In Michoacán Urosaurus bicarinatus tuberculatus is found in wooded areas, not in open scrub forest, in the coastal area to elevations of about 900 meters, and along the slopes of the Cordillera Volcánica and the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau at elevations from 1000 to 1700 meters. The record for Tupátaro probably is erroneous, for no other specimens of this species are known from the central plateau. Essentially, the distribution of this species parallels that of Sceloporus utiformis, a strictly terrestrial species. Urosaurus bicarinatus tuberculatus lives on tree trunks. Below 1000 meters in the Tepalcatepec Valley Urosaurus bicarinatus tuberculatus is replaced by Urosaurus gadowi.
Urosaurus gadowi (Schmidt)
Uta gadovi Schmidt, Amer. Mus. Novitates, 22:3, December 1, 1921.—Cofradía, Jalisco, México (in error) = Cofradía, Michoacán, México (Duellman, 1958b:49).
Urosaurus gadowi, Mittleman, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91:154, September, 1942.
Acahuato (2); Apatzingán (56); 12-16 km. S of Apatzingán (12); Buenavista (7); Capirio (23); Cofradía (21); El Sabino (13); Guayabo; Jazmin; La Playa; La Salada (3); Nueva Italia (7); Rancho Nuevo; Río Cancita, 14 km. E of Apatzingán (5); Río Marquez, 10 km. S of Lombardia (2); Río Marquez, 13 km. SE of Nueva Italia (3); San Salvador (2); Santa Ana; Tepalcatepec; Volcán Jorullo (3); Zicuiran (2); Ziracuaretiro.
Although individuals of this species have been collected at elevations slightly exceeding 1200 meters on Volcán Jorullo and at 1100 meters at Ziracuaretiro on the southern slopes of the Cordillera Volcánica, for the most part these lizards are found at elevations of less than 800 meters, where they inhabit the open arid scrub forest of the Tepalcatepec Valley, a region to which this species is endemic (Duellman, 1958b:49). These small lizards usually are found on the trunks and main branches of the small trees in the scrub forest; in this habitat they are associated with Sceloporus horridus oligoporus, a much larger species.
Males have a pale orange spot on the throat and a pale blue belly; females have immaculate venters.
A specimen from Guayabo on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Coalcomán was referred to Urosaurus irregularis (Fischer) by Peters (1954:15). I have studied this specimen (BMNH 1914.1.28.110), a female having a snout-vent length of 46 mm., and agree with Peters that it closely resembles Fischer's description and figure (1882: pl. 17, fig. 1). This specimen and those seen of Urosaurus gadowi all have pavementlike enlarged dorsal scales that are complete across the vertical line. In U. gadowi the enlarged dorsals usually are in four to six irregular rows; in the specimen from Guayabo the dorsals are in two rows. Although none of the other specimens of U. gadowi examined has only two rows of enlarged dorsals, I prefer to consider the specimen from Guayabo as an aberrant individual of that species, rather than U. irregularis. Guayabo is in the known range of U. gadowi. Urosaurus irregularis is known only from the type specimen in the Bremen Museum; the type locality, according to Fischer (1882:232), is "Aus dem Hochlande von Mexico." If an examination of the type specimen of U. irregularis shows it to be identical with U. gadowi, then U. irregularis would be the name for the lizards here referred to U. gadowi.
Mabuya brachypoda Taylor
Mabuya brachypoda Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 38 (1):308, December 20, 1956.—Four kilometers east-southeast of Los Angeles de Tilarán, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.