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Great Basin Fence Lizard

Sceloporus occidentalis longipes

Description:

Dark lizard with yellow on the sides of its belly and around eyes.

Habitat:

Burnt Oak tree at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve

1 Species ID Suggestions

Fence Lizard
Sceloporus sp. Eastern fence lizard


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2 Comments

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 12 years ago

Hi Mandy, thank you for the ID and info! I hadn't spotted one with this much yellow before. I know they're quite variable though. Your little one is sooo adorable! :)

Mandy Hollman
Mandy Hollman 12 years ago

This guy looks just like the fence lizard I found in the wood pile a couple days ago! Today I actually caught a tiny one, and it sat on my hand and let me admire it. I posted photos of it on my Noah account today.
To me, this looks like species Sceloporus undulatus (eastern fence lizard), like mine were. I would have expected Sceloporus occidentalis (western fence lizard), since you found it in California, but it doesn't have the blue belly (maybe a juvenile?). You're right, the yellow is interesting... Maybe it's another species of Sceloporus less common in the US.
Nice photo!

Poway, California, USA

Spotted on Mar 25, 2012
Submitted on Mar 25, 2012

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