Endangered
Angel Island chuckwalla
Sauromalus hispidus
The Angel Island chuckwalla, also known as the spiny chuckwalla, is a chuckwalla lizard belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island) in the Gulf of California.
Appearance
Its body color is a dark brown color with transverse black bands that fade into a solid darker brown to black color as the animal ages.
The Angel Island chuckwalla is the second-largest species of chuckwalla, reaching 44 cm (17 in) in body length and 64 cm (25 in) overall length, and weighing up to 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).
Range and habitat
The Angel Island chuckwalla is endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda and 10 smaller islands in the Gulf of California. The Angel Island chuckwalla, also known as the spiny chuckwalla, is a chuckwalla lizard belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island) in the Gulf of California. The species was transported to other islands by a tribe of the Seri as a potential food source.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
Chuckwallas also feed on leaves, fruit, and flowers of annuals and perennial plants. Insects represent a supplementary prey if eaten at all. Angel Island chuckwallas are diurnal animals, and as they are exothermic, spend much of their mornings and winter days basking.
In crisis
Angel Island chuckwalla is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Angel Island chuckwalla, Wikidata item Q115765. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
