NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern Fence Lizard [undulatus]
Sceloporus undulatus (Bosc & Daudin, 1801)
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 eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is a medium-sized species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the fence swift, gray lizard, gravid lizard, northern fence lizard or pine lizard. It is also referred to colloquially as the horn-billed lizard. One of its most notable behaviors is that of its escape behavior when encountering fire ants, which have been known to invade and negatively affect many of their populations.
Wikipedia contributors, Eastern fence lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:07:00.432361+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sceloporus undulatus (Bosc & Daudin, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Bosc & Daudin, 1801)
- Common name
- Eastern Fence Lizard [undulatus]
- 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 undulatus (Bosc & Daudin, 1801)
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 |
|---|---|
| Lacerta hyacinthina Green, 1818 Green, 1818 | synonym |
| Sceloporus thayerii Baird & Girard, 1852 Baird & Girard, 1852 | synonym |
| Stellio undulatus Bosc & Daudin ex Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Bosc & Daudin ex Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 | synonym |
| Lacerta fasciata Green, 1818 Green, 1818 | ambiguous synonym |
| Sceloporus thayerii Bocourt, 1874 Bocourt, 1874 | synonym |
| Agama undulata Daudin, 1802 Daudin, 1802 | synonym |
| Lacerta undulata Bosc, 1801 Bosc, 1801 | synonym |
| Sceloporus floridanus Baird, 1859 Baird, 1859 | ambiguous synonym |
| Stellio undulatus Latreille, 1801 Latreille, 1801 | 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=undulatus 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:4V5CX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.