Friday, October 11, 2013

Good Lizard

A melanistic Sceloporus in our woodpile amongst the hot- burning  "pitchwood" pinon logs picked for fire starters, far from any black lava. Must ask Harry Greene if this is just the natural variation selected for on black Malpai rock...


3 comments:

Peculiar said...

Looks like a lot of the dark ones we have in abundance out here. In our case, I have to wonder if the local population isn't being selected to blend in with the dark sandstone Campito Formation. Though then one might expect pale ones to match all the blonde granite at the east end of the valley....

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure Sceloporus change color with the temperature. Dark for basking, lighter when they warm up.

Adam

Steve Bodio said...

Ours seem to be barred, not black-- at least this dark-- though I am willing to be corrected. Oddly, I saw a black one like this in Deep Springs a few weeks ago, and have seen them on lava malpais up by Grants and down past Carrizozo. But if they are here, I have missed them.