HERPETOLOGY OF ZUNI MOUNTAINS — GEHLBACH 285 



land that extends along the Rio San Jose from the Rio Grande valley 

 (see Castetter, 1956, fig.). This gi'ound uta is more abimdant in 

 eastern Valencia county at lower elevations and is common in the 

 San Juan Basin to the north. 

 Locality records : 



MCKINLEY CO.: Thoreau (CWGF) ; 4 mi. ENE. Prewitt (CU, specimen lost); 

 VALENCIA CO.: (KUMNH 12192*). 



Urosaurus ornatus linearis Baird x U. o. wrighti Schmidt 



Urosauriis has been the subject of considerable taxonomic debate. 

 This genus was lumped with Uta by Schmidt (1953), Stebbins (1954), 

 and Oliver (1943) subsequent to separation of the two genera by 

 Mittleman (1942). Other authors such as Smith (1946), Smith and 

 Taylor (1950a), and Stejneger and Barbour (1943) followed Mittleman. 

 Although reasons for dividing Uta (in the sense of Mittleman, 1942) 

 are equivocal as demonstrated by Savage (1958), arguments for this 

 spht advanced by the latter author appear well founded. I consider 

 Urosaurus as the proper generic name for forms occurring in the Zuni 

 region and specifically allied with Uta ornata Baird and Girard (1852). 



The problem of discerning geographic variation in Urosaurus 

 ornatus seems to result from Mittleman's failure (1942) to use signifi- 

 cant quantitative methods in defining the various forms. This was 

 demonstrated by Oliver (1943), whose method of treating U. ornatus 

 was followed with modification by Langebartel and Smith (1954, pp. 

 130-133). Murray (1953) questioned the use of degree of dorsal scale 

 carination as a taxonomic character and, in addition to Duellman 

 (1955, p. 8) and Gehlbach (1956, pp. 367-368), reported the failure of 

 color to characterize subspecies in U. ornatus. Williams (1960, pp. 

 27-28), experiencing difficulty with Mittleman's diagnoses, followed 

 Langebartel and Smith (1954, pp. 130-133) in lumping U. o. linearis 

 under U. o. schotti but recognized U. o. wrighti.^ 



Mittleman (1942, pp. 138, 146) recorded U. o. wrighti from McKinley 

 and San Juan counties. New Mexico, and U. o. linearis from "generally 

 south of Lat. 35° [in New Mexico] except for the southeastern quarter 

 of the state." Within the Zuni region, U. ornatus exhibits varia- 

 bility that, at first glance, suggests intergradation between U. o. 

 linearis and U. o. wrighti (Gehlbach, 1956, p. 368); however, examina- 

 tion of series of supposedly typical individuals reveals that most 

 characters currently in use do not adequately separate these sub- 

 species. Clinal variation is present in at least one important char- 



5 I provisionally consider linearis as a separate subspecies in view of the distinc- 

 tiveness of specimens from south-central Arizona (fig. 8). A thorough examination 

 of variation in U. ornatus from the Arizona- Mexico border region would clarify 

 this situation but that is beyond the scope of my discussion. 



