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Adult male, San Diego County © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Will Wells. |
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Adult female, San Diego County © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Will Wells. |
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Adult male, San Diego County |
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Adult female, San Diego County
© Gary Nafis.
Specimen courtesy of Gerold Merker |
Juvenile male, San Diego County © Gary Nafis.
Specimen courtesy of Gerold Merker |
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Adult female, San Diego County
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Adult, San Diego County |
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Recently-hatched juvenile,
San Diego County |
Recently-hatched juvenile,
San Diego County |
Juvenile, Imperial County © Stuart Young |
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Adult, Imperial County © Rob Schell |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Short Video |
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A Baja California Collared Lizard sits on a rock above a palm oasis. |
| Description |
Size |
| Adults get up to 5 inches snout-vent length (12.7 cm) |
| Appearance |
A large lizard with a broad-head, a narrow-neck with a pair of black bands, large rear legs, and a long thick tail. Often described as looking like a small "dinosaur".
Brown or dark gray above, with thin white irregular crossbars and alternating crossbars consisting of white spots. Female coloring is lighter and duller than male's except when breeding, when they develop orange-red bars on the head and body.
Two black bands on the neck with a white band inbetween them create the "collar" for which this lizard is named. The rear band has a wide gap on top of the back and is sometimes missing completely. The front black band coloring continues onto the underside of the throat on males, covering the throat and much of the chin. The throats and chins of females lack this dark coloring. Males also have a broader head than females.
The underside is mostly white. Males have two black patches on the underside near the groin and a dark throat. Females with light throat.
The tail is flattened slightly vertically, with a light stripe on top on males, absent on females. |
| Behavior |
Active in daytime. Very tolerant of heat. Hibernates under rocks during cold temperatures in winter.
Often seen basking conspicuously on top of rocks.
May become bipedal when running quickly; raising up to run only on the hind legs.
Males become aggressive and very territorial in the breeding season. The are more approachable at this time, as they tend to stand their ground on top of a rock, often raising up on their legs, bobbing up and down, and extending a blue and black throat dewlap in a threat display (which may also be attractive to females).
When handled, this lizard is capable of biting very hard, and drawing blood with its strong jaws. |
| Diet |
| Eats insects, spiders, small lizards, leaves and flowers. |
| Reproduction |
| Lays eggs during summer, which hatch late July - August. |
| Range |
Inhabits the desert side of the Peninsular Ranges west of the Imperial Valley from the north side of Mt. San Jacinto south of San Gorgonio Pass, south into Baja California, where it ranges as far south as just west of Loreto.
Found up to around 4,000 ft. (1,094 m.) |
| Habitat |
| Arid, rocky desert hills and canyons with sparse vegetation. Prefers hillsides with moderately sized rocks. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Formerly known as the Baja California Collared Lizard - Crotaphytus insularis vestigium , a subspecies of Crotaphytus insularis, the Desert Collared Lizard, before the species was split into C. bicinctores - the Great Basin Collared Lizard and C. vestigium. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Crotaphytidae |
Collared and Leopard Lizards |
| Genus |
Crotaphytus |
Collared Lizards |
Species
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vestigium |
Baja black-collared Lizard |
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Original Description |
Smith and Tanner, 1972 - Great Basin Nat., Vol. 32, p. 29
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Crotaphytus - Greek - krotaphos side or temple of the head - refers to the presence of small polygonal plates on the whole surface of the head.
vestigium - Latin - footstep or trace
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Baja California Black-collared Lizard
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
C. bicinctores - Great Basin Collared Lizard
Gambelia wislizenii - Long-nosed Leopard Lizard
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Collared Lizards
Crazy Crotaphytus - A web site dedicated to Collared Lizards
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Grismer, L. Lee. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. The University of California Press, 2002.
McPeak, Ron H. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. Sea Challengers, 2000.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Turtles and Lizards of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Jones, Lawrence, Rob Lovich, editors. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2009.
Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This animal is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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