California lizards

The thumbnails below show various lizards or lizard groups in California. Click on any active links (underlined in blue) to bring up a web page discussing the species or group with a selection of photos. All photographs were taken in the wild at the site of discovery; no lizards were harmed in the making of this web site. Most photos are by me although a few friends are also represented. Fundamental resources for identification and distribution of California lizards are the Stebbins' field guides (Stebbins 2003, 1985, 1966); this page follows the taxonomic order of his 2003 guide. Names used herein generally follow Crother et al. (2001). An excellent introduction to lizard-watching in southern California is Sanborn (1994).

GECKOS Western Banded Gecko Coleonyx variegatus San Diego Co. [D. Roberson]	IGUANAS Desert Iguana Dipsosaurus dorsalis Imperial Co. [D. Roberson]	CHUCKWALLAS Common Chuckwalla Sauromalus ater Riverside Co. [D. Roberson]
COLLARED LIZARDS Great Basin Collared Lizard Crotaphytus bicinctores Inyo Co. [L. Sansone]	LEOPARD LIZARDS Long-nosed Leopard Lizard Gambelia wislizenii Inyo Co. [D. Roberson]	ZEBRA-TAILED LIZARDS Zebra-tailed Lizard Callisaurus draconoides Inyo Co. [D. Roberson]
FRINGE-TOED LIZARDS Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Uma inornata Riverside Co. [D. Roberson]	SPINY LIZARDS Granite Spiny Lizard Sceloporus orcutti San Diego Co. [D. Roberson]	SMALL SCALY LIZARDS Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis Monterey Co. [D. Roberson]
BUSH & TREE LIZARDS Long-tailed Brush Lizard Urosaurus graciosus Riverside Co. [D. Roberson]	ROCK LIZARDS Banded Rock Lizard Petrosaurus mearnsi San Diego Co. [D. Roberson]	HORNED LIZARDS Coast Horned Lizard Phrynosoma coronatum Monterey Co. [D. Roberson]
NIGHT LIZARDS Desert Night Lizard Xantusia vigilis Riverside Co. [D. Roberson]	SKINKS Western Skink Eumeces skiltonianus Monterey Co. [J. Sullivan]	WHIPTAILS Tiger Whiptail Cnemidophorus tigris Monterey Co. [D. Roberson]
ALLIGATOR LIZARDS Northern Alligator Lizard Elgaria coerulea Del Norte Co. [D. Roberson]	LEGLESS LIZARDS California Legless Lizard Anniella pulchra San Luis Obispo Co. [J. Sullivan]	POISONOUS LIZARDS Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum very rare in extreme southeastern California [no photo]

Many thanks to John Sullivan for his comments on this and many of the linked pages. His keen eye for detail has made these little vignettes much better.

Literature cited:

Crother, B.I., chair. 2001. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Committee of Standard English and Scientific Names, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular 29 (as supplemented in Herp. Review 32: 152-153).
Sanborn, S.R. 1994. The Lizard-Watching Guide. Lorraine Press, Salt Lake City, UT.
Stebbins, R.C. 1966. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Stebbins, R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 2d ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Stebbins, R.C. 2003. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3d ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

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