Spiny Lizards from Oaxaca
|
This page contains photos of spiny lizards
from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. All photos taken by me. All animals free and unrestrained. The scientific name for "spiny lizards" is Phrynosomatidae. |
Website designed by Tom Spinker See home page for e-mail address Copyright © 1999 - 2005 All Rights Reserved This page last updated 6 June 2005 Home Lizards Snakes |
|
I lived in Oaxaca, Mexico from 30 May 1999 til 15 July 2000 -- about thirteen and a half
months.
I stayed at a wonderful place called Villa Maria. It is an apartment house which operates like a hotel. You can call and reserve an apartment, with stove and refrigerator and pots, pans, dishes, by the day, week, or month. I paid $300 (US) per month plus $50 for a TV with cable. Maria said that she does not want to advertise on the internet, so I will not include a phone number here. But you can find the phone number in Foder's Guide. There are actually two Villa Maria's in Oaxaca. This one is on Calle Arteaga. Any gringo arriving by plane into Mexico can automatically receive a six-month tourist visa. A gringo can stay in Mexico indefinately on a series of six-month tourist visas. It is necessary to leave the country before the six-month period ends and then return. This might seem like a corruption of the intent of the system, but apparently the logic is that anyone who can afford a plane ticket is welcome to stay for six months. It is much cheaper to live in Mexico than in the United States, but the cost of leaving every six months pretty much wipes out the savings. An alternative is to get an FM-3 "Rentista" visa. FM-3 is a broad class of visas which covers many situations. "Rentista" applies to people who can demonstrate that they have enough resources to live without working. Although the law seems to say that a person needs a certain income level to obtain a "Rentista" visa, it is easy to find someone in Mexico (who calls himself a "paralegal") who can get one for you. The visa must be renewed each year. With such a visa, you are not required to leave and return every six months. |
|
|
25 Jan 2000. I took this photo in a banana plantation to the northwest of Tehuantepec, in state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This lizard is about four inches plus tail. |
|
23 Nov 1999. Hillside east of Oaxaca City. This is the most common lizard in Oaxaca. The
locals call it a "chinchete". These lizards are about four to six inches in length, plus the tail. This particular individual was a very large example of the species. |
|
|
| 11 March 2000. Another "chinchete". Near Oaxaca City. |
|
Taken 25 Nov 1999, Thanksgiving Day, which is not celebrated in Mexico. This was taken in a very large park north of Oaxaca City, at the end of the bus route marked Hospital San Felipe. This is the only individual of this species which I saw. It was about five inches, plus tail. |
| 27 March 2000. East of Oaxaca City. This is the only individual of this species I saw. (But possibly this is a juvenile of the same species as above.) It was a small lizard. Maybe three inches plus tail. |
|
|
Home
Snakes of Florida |
|