Western Fence Lizard

Description:

A fairly small lizard with keeled and pointed dorsal scales of equal size on the back, sides, and belly. Scales on the backs of the thighs are mostly keeled, and abruptly smaller, and the rear of the limbs is yellow or orange. The sides of the belly are blue. Color is brown, gray, or black with blotches. Sometimes light markings on the sides of the back form stripes or irregular lines, and sometimes dark blotching may form irregular bands. Males have blue markings on the sides of the belly edged in black, a blue patch on the throat, enlarged postanals, and a swollen tail base. Some scales on the back become blue or greenish when a lizard is in the light phase. Females have faint or absent blue markings on the belly, no blue or green color on the upper surfaces, and dark bars or crescents on the back. Juveniles have little or no blue on the throat and faint blue belly markings or none at all.

Habitat:

Casa Romantica grounds. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens was built by city father Ole Hanson as his family home in 1927. The grounds feature succulent gardens, original tile walkways, a small amphitheater, all kinds of nooks and crannies, and sweeping ocean views.

Notes:

In California, western black-legged ticks (deer ticks) are the primary carriers of Lyme disease. Very tiny nymphal deer ticks are more likely to carry the disease than adults. A protein in the blood of Western Fence Lizards kills the bacterium in these nymphal ticks when they attach themselves to a lizard and ingest the lizard's blood. This could explain why Lyme disease is less common in California than it is in some areas such as the Northeastern states, where it is epidemic.