NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Tree Lizard
Urosaurus ornatus (Baird & Girard, 1852)
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
Urosaurus ornatus, commonly known as the ornate tree lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The species, which was formerly called simply the "tree lizard", has been used to study physiological changes during the fight-or-flight response as related to stress and aggressive competition. Its life history and costs of reproduction have been documented in field populations in New Mexico and Arizona. This species has been fairly well studied because of its interesting variation in throat color in males (within a population) that can correlate with different reproductive strategies.
Wikipedia contributors, Urosaurus ornatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:18.648841+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Urosaurus ornatus (Baird & Girard, 1852)
- Name authority
- (Baird & Girard, 1852)
- Common name
- Tree Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Phrynosomatidae
- Genus
- Urosaurus
- 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
- genusUrosaurus
- speciesUrosaurus ornatus (Baird & Girard, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Urosaurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Baja California Brush LizardUrosaurus lahtelai Rau & Loomis, 1977 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarion Island Tree LizardUrosaurus clarionensis (Townsend, 1890) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tropical tree lizardUrosaurus bicarinatus (Duméril, 1856) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Arizona Long-tailed Brush Lizard [shannoni]Urosaurus graciosus Hallowell, 1854 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gadow's Tree LizardUrosaurus gadovi (Schmidt, 1921) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Uta (Phymatolepis) lateralis Boulenger, 1883 Boulenger, 1883 | synonym |
| Uta symmetrica Baird, 1859 Baird, 1859 | synonym |
| Uta wrigthi Schmidt, 1921 Schmidt, 1921 | synonym |
| Uta schottii Baird, 1859 Baird, 1859 | synonym |
| Uta ornata var. linearis Baird, 1859 Baird, 1859 | synonym |
| Uta ornata chiricahuae Mittleman, 1941 Mittleman, 1941 | synonym |
| Uta ornata schmidti Mittleman, 1941 Mittleman, 1941 | synonym |
| Uta ornata Baird & Girard, 1852 Baird & Girard, 1852 | synonym |
| Uta levis Stejneger, 1890 Stejneger, 1890 | synonym |
| Uta caerulea Smith, 1935 Smith, 1935 | synonym |
| Uta gularis Cragin, 1884 Cragin, 1884 | 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=Urosaurus&species=ornatus 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:7DZ38. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.