Range in California: Red
Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies
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Adult female, 6,500 ft., Mono County |
Adult, 6.500 ft., Mono County |
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Adult male, 6,800 ft., Inyo County |
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Dorsal view - Sagebrush Lizard, Sceloporus graciosus, on the left, Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, on the right. Note the larger dorsal scales on the Fence Lizard. © Patrick Briggs |
Ventral view - Sagebrush Lizard on the right, Fence Lizard on the left. Note the yellow rear thighs on the Fence Lizard.
© Patrick Briggs |
Head view - Sagebrush Lizard on the left, Fence Lizard on the right.
© Patrick Briggs |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, Modoc County |
Habitat, Mono County |
Habitat, Inyo County |
More pictures of this animal and its natural habitat are available on our Northwest and Southwest Herps pages.
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Short Video |
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Several lizards from Mono and Inyo Counties, including a dual push-up display. |
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| Description |
| Size |
| 1 7/8 - 3 1/2 inches long from snout to vent (4.7 - 8.9 cm). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Appearance |
A small lizard with small keeled and pointed scales overlapping on the upper surfaces of the body and limbs. These scales are not as large as they are on other lizards of the species Sceloporus. The gular fold is incomplete. The scales on the back of the thigh are mostly granular, not keeled (as they are on the Western Fence Lizard.)
Color is gray or brown with dark blotches or irregular bands on the body and tail and distinct light and dark stripes along the sides and upper sides at the edge of the back. There is usually a bar of black on the shoulder and rusy coloring on the armpits and sometimes on the sides of the body and the neck. Unlike the Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis, there is normally no yellow coloring on the rear of the limbs.
Males have a patch of blue color on each side of the belly and on the throat. The blue belly patches do not meet across the belly and do not meet the blue on the throat. Male postanal scales are enlarged, and the base of the tail is broader than on the female. The throat is light blue mottled with white spots. Sometimes the blue patch is reduced or even absent. Some males may develop bright orange breeding coloring.
Females have little or no blue on the belly. When breeding, females may develop orange coloring on the sides and neck and yellow underneath. Young lizards have little or no blue on the belly. |
| Behavior & Natural History |
| Diurnal. Active spring through fall. Hibernates during winter. A good climber and jumper, able to quickly jump from rock to rock. Lives mostly on the ground near bushes, logs, rocks, or brush piles. Often observed basking on rocks and logs. Escapes danger by running into rocks, rodent burrows, or brush or climbs up trees or rock outcrops. Males defend their territory and try to attract females with head-bobbing and a push-up display that exposes the throat and ventral colors. |
| Diet |
| Eats a variety of small invertebrates, including ants, termites, grasshoppers, flies, spiders, and beetles. |
| Reproduction |
| 1 or 2 clutches of 2 - 10 eggs are laid from June to August. |
| Range |
| In California, occurs in the Great Basin desert east of the Sierra Nevada and in the northeast corner of the state. Ranges north into eastern Washington and east into southern Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. |
| Habitat |
| Lives in sagebrush and other types of shrublands, mainly in the mountains (at higher elevations than the Western Fence Lizard). Prefers open areas with scattered low bushes and lots of sun.
From 500 ft. to around 10,500 ft. (150 - 3,200 m). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Taxonomic Notes |
Three subspecies of Sceloporus graciosus are recognized in California:
Sceloporus graciosus gracilis - Western Sagebrush Lizard,
Sceloporus graciosus graciosus - Northern Sagebrush Lizard, and
Sceloporus graciosus vandenburgianus - Southern Sagebrush Lizard.
Sceloporus graciosus vandenburgianus has been described as a unique species, Sceloporus vandenburgianus. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| This subspecies is listed as sensitive by the Bureau of Land Management. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Phrynosomatidae |
Zebra-tailed, Earless, Fringe-toed, Spiny, Tree, Side-blotched, and Horned Lizards |
| Genus |
Sceloporus |
Spiny Lizards |
| Species |
graciosus |
Common Sagebrush Lizard |
Subspecies
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graciosus |
Northern Sagebrush Lizard |
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Original Description |
Sceloporus graciosus - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Sceloporus - Greek -skelos leg and porus - pore or opening - refers to the femoral pores on hind legs
graciosus - Latin - graciosus graceful - "This small and graceful species..."
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Sceloporus graciosus gracilis - Western Sagebrush Lizard
Sceloporus graciosus vandenburgianus - Southern Sagebrush Lizard
Uta stansburiana - Common Side-blotched Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis - Western Fence 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.
Brown et. al. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society,1995.
Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow,
Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983.
St. John, Alan D. Reptiles of the Northwest: Alaska to California; Rockies to the Coast. Lone Pine Publishing, 2002.
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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.
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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 |
BLM:S |
Sensitive |
| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G5T5 S3 |
Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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None |
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