California Reptiles & Amphibians

Dipsosaurus dorsalis dorsalis - Northern Desert Iguana

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Red

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Imperial County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Imperial County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult foraging in a flowering bush in the spring, Riverside County.
© Bruce Montgomery

Underside of adult male, San Diego County, showing breeding coloration

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Imperial County © Patrick Briggs

Juvenile, San Bernardino County

Adult, Yuma County, Arizona

Habitat

Creosote flats habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, rocky wash, Inyo County

Habitat, Yuha Desert, Imperial County

Sandy wash habitat, San Bernardino County

Sandy wash habitat, San Diego County

Habitat, lava field, San Bernardino County

Dunes habitat during spring wildflower bloom, Imperial County

Sand dunes habitat, Imperial County

Mural, 29 Palms, San Bernardino County

Short Video

Several Northern Desert Iguanas in the Colorado Desert.

A Northern Desert Iguana darts around on the sand and does a territorial push-up display.

Description

Size

4 - 5 3/4 inches long from snout to vent (10 - 14.6 cm).

Appearance

A large lizard with a very long tail and a small head with a blunt nose. Scales are small and granular except for a row of enlarged keeled scales on the middle of the back which form a crest which extends to near the end of the tail.

Color is pale beige or gray with reddish-brown markings, creating the appearance of a dark background with pale round spots, sometimes forming bands, along with irregular broken lengthwise dark markings. Dark markings form rings around the tail. Underside is pale with reddish or buffy areas on the sides of the belly during breeding season. Juveniles often have a more strongly contrasted pattern than adults.

Behavior

Active in daytime. Often seen on rocks basking in the hot sun. Able to tolerate very high temperatures, higher than any other North American reptile. Frequently active after high temperatures force other lizards to seek shelter. A very fast runner. Feeds by climbing branches of creosote bushes and other plants. Seeks refuge in burrows, often located at the base of creosote bushes. Hibenates in burrows during the winter.

Diet

Eats mostly plant material - leaves, flower buds, and flowers. Creosote bush is a staple food. Also eats insects, carrion, fecal pellets.

Reproduction

Breeds from April to July. Female lays a clutch of 3 - 8 eggs from June to August.

Range

Occurs primarily where creosote scrub occurs, on the desert sides of Southern California mountiains, and the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in the Owens Valley, to the Arizona, Nevada, and Baja California Borders. Below sea level to around 5,000 ft. (1,520 m).

Ranges farther north into Nevada and SE Utah, east into Arizona and south to the tip of Baja California and the west coast of mainland Mexico almost as far south.

Habitat

Creosote bush flats, scrub, dunes, washes, streambeds, floodplains. Most common in sandy areas. Occurs in rocky areas with sandy hummocks.

Taxonomic Notes

Subspecies of Dipsosaurus dorsalis are not recognized by all herpetologists. D. d. dorsalis is the only form occuring north of Mexico.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None.

Taxonomy
Family	Iguanidae	Iguanian Lizards
Genus	Dipsosaurus	Desert Iguana
Species	dorsalis	Desert Iguana
Subspecies	dorsalis	Northern Desert Iguana
Original Description
(Baird and Girard, 1852) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 126 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Dipsosaurus - Greek dipsos thirst and saurus lizard - refers to the dry region they inhabit dorsalis - bbb from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Dipsosaurus dorsalis - Desert Iguana (no subspecies recognized)
Related or Similar California Lizards
Long-nosed Leopard Lizard
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006. 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.

Conservation Status
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.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List

Return to the Top