NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bell's spiny lizard
Sceloporus cowlesi Lowe & Norris, 1956
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The southwestern fence lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi), also known as Cowles' prairie lizard, the White Sands prairie lizard or the White Sands swift, is species of spiny lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to the Chihuahuan Desert of the south-western United States and north-central Mexico. Originally described in 1956 as Sceloporus undulatus cowlesi, a subspecies of the eastern fence lizard, subsequent DNA studies elevated the southwestern fence lizard to species status.
The following cladogram is based on Leaché and Reeder, 2002, and shows the relationship of Sceloporus cowlesi to other species in the "Sceloporus undulatus group".
Wikipedia contributors, Southwestern fence lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:18:14.967108+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sceloporus cowlesi Lowe & Norris, 1956
- Name authority
- Lowe & Norris, 1956
- Common name
- Bell's spiny lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Phrynosomatidae
- Genus
- Sceloporus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyPhrynosomatidae
- genusSceloporus
- speciesSceloporus cowlesi Lowe & Norris, 1956
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sceloporus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-bellied Bunchgrass LizardSceloporus aeneus Wiegmann, 1828 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| White-bellied Rough LizardSceloporus albiventris Smith, 1939 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anahuacan Bunchgrass LizardSceloporus anahuacus Lara-Gongora, 1983 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Santa Cruz Island SatorSceloporus angustus (Dickerson, 1919) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Southern Occidental Bunchgrass LizardSceloporus aurantius Grummer & Bryson, 2014 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern Cleft Spiny LizardSceloporus aureolus Smith, 1942 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Island Fence LizardSceloporus becki Van Denburgh, 1905 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Trans Volcanic Bunchgrass LizardSceloporus bicanthalis Smith, 1937 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Buller's Spiny LizardSceloporus bulleri Boulenger, 1895 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blue Ornate Spiny LizardSceloporus caeruleus Smith, 1936 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shy Spiny LizardSceloporus cautus Smith, 1938 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-spotted Spiny LizardSceloporus chrysostictus Cope, 1866 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sceloporus undulatus belli Smith, Chiszar & Lemos-Espinal, 1995 Smith, Chiszar & Lemos-Espinal, 1995 | synonym |
| Sceloporus undulatus speari Smith, Chiszar & Lemos-Espinal, 1995 Smith, Chiszar & Lemos-Espinal, 1995 | synonym |
| Sceloporus edbelli Smith et al., 2003 Smith et al., 2003 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Sceloporus&species=cowlesi Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4V58L. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.