Arizona Alligator Lizard
Elgaria kingii nobilis
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- E. kingii – Cochise Co, AZ – photo by Dylan Buetzow
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- E. kingii – Cochise Co, AZ – photo by Skylar Doak
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- E. kingii – Cochise Co, AZ – photo by Will Wells
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- Map by Steve Bledsoe, SWCHR
DISTRIBUTION: In our region, Elgaria k. nobilis occurs in Arizona’s Mogollon Rim country, then south and southeast into the “sky Island” mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
LEGAL STATUS: No Listings
MEANING OF SCIENTIFIC NAME: Elgaria kingii nobilis (Baird & Girard – 1852)
Genus: Elgaria, Obscure – possibly named after the Old English name “Elgar” meaning “elf spear” or “elf warrior” – pos. ref. to spear-shaped head of the genus
Species: kingii, honors Admiral Phillip Parker King, reptile collector in Australia for the British Museum, or honors Capt. Phillip Gedley King (son of Phillip P. King) who sailed on the Beagle with Charles Darwin.
Subspecies: nobilis, Latin = known, famous
Ref. Ellen Beltz 2006
Ref. E. Jaeger 1962