Range in California: Orange
Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies
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Adult, 6,200 ft., Tuolumne County |
Adult, 6,200 ft., Tuolumne County |
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Adult, Plumas County |
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Adult and juvenile, Plumas County |
Juvenile, Plumas County |
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Adult, 6,200 ft., Tuolumne County |
Adult, 7,200 ft., Tulare County |
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These two adults were spotted on a forest trail on an afternoon in late June in Plumas County. The photographer thought they were mating, but it appears to be two males fighting.
© 2005 Todd Accornero
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Habitat |
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Habitat, 7,200 ft., Tulare County
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Habitat, 6,200 ft., Tuolumne County |
Habitat, 4,100 ft., Plumas County |
| Description |
| Size |
| Elgaria coerulea ranges from 2 3/4 - 5 7/8 inches in snout to vent length (7 - 13.6 cm) (Stebbins) |
| Appearance |
Alligator lizards, genus Elgaria, are members of the family Anguidae, a family of lizards found in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Large bony scales, a large head on an elongated body and powerful jaws probably give the lizards their common name. They are characterized by a slim body with short limbs and long tail. The tail can reach twice the length of its body if it has never been broken off and regenerated.
Color is olive-brown, bluish, or greenish above, with dark mottling but usually no definite crossbands. The underside is yellowish or greenish.
Scales are keeled on the back, sides, and legs, with 16 rows of scales across the back at the middle of the body. The temporals are all keeled.
A band of small granular scales
separates the larger bone-reinforced scales on the back and on the belly, creating a fold along each side. These folds allow the body to expand to hold food, eggs, or live young. The fold contracts when the extra capacity is not needed.
The eyes are dark around the pupils. (Compare with the light eyes of Elgaria multicarinata .)
The head is usually not heavily mottled with dark color. The head of a male is broader than a female's with a more triangular shape.
Usually there are faint dark lines running lengthwise on the underside which run between the scales, along their edges. (Compare with the underside lines on Elgaria multicarinata which run through the middle of the scales.)
Young usually lack the dark barring and can have a plain copper or brownish band on the back. |
| Behavior |
Active during the day. Inactive during cold periods in winter, this subspecies has a shorter activity period than the others due to its higher-elevation habitat.
Moves with a snake-like undulating motion. A good swimmer, sometimes diving into the water to escape by swimming away.
The tail of an alligator lizard is easily broken off, as it is with many lizards. The tail will grow back, although generally not as perfectly as the original. A lizard may detach its tail deliberately as a defensive tactic. When first detached, the tail will writhe around for several minutes, long enough to distract a hungry predator from the lizard.
Other defensive tactics used by alligator lizards are smearing the contents of the cloaca on the enemy and biting. Males sometimes also extrude the hemipenes when threatened.
Alligator lizards are generally secretive, tending to hide in brush or under rocks, although they are often seen foraging out in the open or on roads in the morning and evening. |
| Diet |
| Eats a variety of small invertebrates, including slugs, snails, and worms. Will also eat small lizards and small mammals. Occasionally feed on bird eggs and young birds. (Stebbins) |
| Reproduction |
| Young are born live from June to September. |
| Range |
Found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Plumas County south to Kern County where it occurs as far south as the Piute Mountains and Breckenridge Mountain.
The species Elgaria coerulea ranges from Southern British Columbia south chiefly west of the Cascades and Coast Ranges to northern Monterey County, east into northern Idaho and northwestern Montana, with isolated populations occuring in southeastern Oregon, northwestern Nevada and the Warner Mountains in California, and south through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Kern County. From sea level to 10,500 ft. (3200 m) |
| Habitat |
| Woodland, forests, grassland. Commonly found hiding under rocks, logs, bark, boards, trash, or other surface cover. Prefers wetter and cooler habitats than E. multicarinata, but generally found near sunny clearings. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Formerly placed in the genus Gerrhonotus, with the Latin name Gerrholotus coeruleas palmeri. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Anguidae |
Alligator Lizards & Allies |
| Genus |
Elgaria |
Western Alligator Lizards |
| Species |
coerulea |
Northern Alligator Lizard |
Subspecies
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palmeri |
Sierra Alligator Lizard |
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Original Description |
Elgaria coerulea - (Wiegmann, 1828) - Isis von Oken, Vol. 21, p. 380
Elgaria coerulea palmeri - (Stejneger, 1893) - N. Amer. Fauna, No. 7, p. 196
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Elgaria - obscure - possibly named for an "Elgar" or a pun on "alligator."
coerulea - Latin - dark colored, dark blue - referring to the dorsal color of the type specimen
palmeri - honors Palmer, Theodore S.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Formerly Gerrhonotus coerulea palmeri
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
E. c. coerulea - San Francisco Alligator Lizard
E. c. shastensis - Shasta Alligator Lizard
E. c. principis - Northwestern Alligator Lizard
E. m. multicarinata - California Alligator Lizard
E. m. scincicauda - Oregon Alligator Lizard
E. m. webbii - San Diego Alligator Lizard
E. panamintina - Panamint Alligator Lizard
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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.
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) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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