The distinction made by Smith (1938:572) between the subspecies S. torquatus torquatus and melanogaster is slight. Individuals with pale bluish spots are found throughout the range of the species in Michoacán; spotting is especially evident in the young. Individuals having an incomplete nuchal collar have been found at Maravatio and at Zinapécuaro in the northern part of the state; in this character these specimens resemble S. torquatus melanogaster, which is found to the north from Guanajuato to Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí.
Sceloporus utiformis Cope
Sceloporus utiformis Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 16:177, September 30, 1864.—Colima, Colima, México.
Nineteen km. S of Arteaga (2); Cascada Tzararacua (17); Coahuayana (3); Coalcomán (6); El Sabino (2); El Ticuiz (2); Ostula (3); Pómaro; Río Cachán; San Juan de Lima; Uruapan (26).
In Michoacán the range of this species is discontinuous. It has been found between 1050 and 1550 meters on the slopes of the Cordillera Volcánica, and on the coast and seaward slopes of the Sierra de Coalcomán up to an elevation of 900 meters. It is absent from the Tepalcatepec Valley. At Uruapan and at Cascada Tzararacua this lizard was found on the ground in oak forest or in open pine-oak forest; on the coast and foothills of the Sierra de Coalcomán it was found on the ground in the gallery forests along streams, and not in the scrub forest.
Urosaurus bicarinatus tuberculatus (Schmidt)
Uta tuberculata Schmidt, Amer. Mus. Novitates, 22:4, December 1, 1921.—Colima, Colima, México.
Urosaurus bicarinatus tuberculatus, Mittleman, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91:169, September, 1942.
Twenty-six km. S of Arteaga; Cascada Tzararacua (2); Chupio; Coahuayana; Coalcomán (8); El Sabino (2); Jungapeo; La Orilla (2); La Placita (4); Playa Azul (4); Pómaro (2); San Salvador (16);? Tupátaro; Uruapan (12); Tzitzio; Zamora.
The known distribution and geographic variation of Urosaurus bicarinatus in southwestern México presents a confused picture. In general rugosity, specimens from the coastal region of Michoacán (Coahuayana, La Orilla, La Placita, Playa Azul, and Pómaro) resemble U. bicarinatus tuberculatus to the north along the Pacific coast. Furthermore, specimens from the coast have less stippling in the gular region than do those from the Sierra de Coalcomán and the slopes of the Cordillera Volcánica. Specimens from the mountains have greatly carinate enlarged dorsals, large lateral tubercles, and heavily stippled throats; in these characters they resemble specimens from Morelos, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. As mentioned by Peters (1954:14), some specimens from La Orilla and San Salvador are like U. bicarinatus bicarinatus in certain characters, and one specimen has the blue ventral patches restricted to the sternal area, a characteristic of U. bicarinatus anonymorphus of Oaxaca and eastern Guerrero. Examination of all available specimens from Michoacán indicates that the nature of the dorsal scales is of little value in separating the subspecies. The specimens from Michoacán are here provisionally referred to U. bicarinatus tuberculatus, because cursory examination of specimens from several localities between Nayarit and Oaxaca shows that there are only minor differences between the named populations. Individuals from the northern part of the range are more rugose and have larger blue ventral patches and less gular stippling than those from the south.