Range in California: Orange
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Adult male, San Bernardino County |
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Close-up showing orange coloring
behind front legs |
Adult Male San Diego County |
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| Adult, 9,600 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Adult, 6,900 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Adult, 6,900 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
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| Adult, 6,800 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Adult, 6,800 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
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Adult male, 6,000 ft., San Bernardino County
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Adult male, 6,000 ft., San Bernardino County
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Adult female San Diego County |
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Gravid adult female, Riverside County.
© Scott Shoemaker |
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| Some Characteristics Useful In Separating Common Sagebrush Lizards from Western Fence Lizards |
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Dorsal view - Common Sagebrush Lizard, Sceloporus graciosus, on the left, Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, on the right. Note the larger dorsal scales on the Fence Lizard.
© Patrick Briggs |
Head view - Common Sagebrush Lizard on the left, Western Fence Lizard on the right. © Patrick Briggs |
Ventral view - Western Fence Lizard on the left, Common Sagebrush Lizard on the right. Note the yellow on the back of the thighs on the Western Fence Lizard.
© Patrick Briggs |
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| A Common Sagebrush Lizard on the left basking next to a Western Fence Lizard on the right. |
Comparison of the rear thighs of a Common Sagebrush Lizard - on top, and a Western Fence Lizard - on the bottom.
Note the granular scales on the Common Sagebrush Lizard and the keeled (and yellow) scales on the Western Fence Lizard.
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Underside of adult male Western Fence Lizard showing yellow on the back of the thighs and enlarged femoral pores. |
Habitat |
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Habitat , 6,200 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County
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Habitat, 5,600 ft. San Diego County |
Habitat, San Jacinto Mountains,
Riverside County |
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| Habitat, 9,600 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Habitat, 8,500 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Habitat, 6,800 ft. San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
Short Video |
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A lizard runs over the rocks and does territorial push-up displays. |
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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 light 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. Blue patches usually meet across the belly and touch the throat coloring. Underside of tail and legs is also often blue. 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, but belly may be dark. 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.
Differentiating subspecies of Sceloporus graciosus in California. |
| Behavior & Natural History |
| Diurnal. Active from March or April to September or October depending on the weather. Hibernates during winter in rock cracks and mammal burrows. 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 with head-bobbing and by standing tall and displaying the blue belly and throat. |
| Diet |
| Eats a variety of small invertebrates, including ants, termites, grasshoppers, flies, spiders, and beetles. |
| Reproduction |
| Breeds from May to July. 1 or 2 clutches of 2 - 7 eggs are laid from June to August and hatch in August and September. |
| Range |
This subspecies is found in the Transverse and Peninsular mountains of southern California, and in the Sierra San Pedro Martir of northern Baja California.
The species Sceloporus graciosus occurs in California, Eastern oregon, central Washington, southern Idaho parts of Montana and North Dakota, in much of Wyoming, Utah, western Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northern Arizona, and in northern Baja California. |
| Habitat |
Lives in shrublands such as chaparral, manzanita and ceanothus, as well as open pine and Douglas Fir forests, mainly in the mountains. Often occurs with the Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis. Prefers open areas with scattered low bushes and lots of sun.
The species Sceloporus graciosus is found at elevations of
500 ft. to around 10,500 ft. (150 - 3,200 m) (Stebbins 2003).
S. g. vandenburgianus is found at higher elevations, from a high of at least 9,600 ft. down to at least 4,500 ft. (2926 - 1371 m). |
| 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 was described as a unique species in 1997, Sceloporus vandenburgianus.
Wiens & Reeder (1997 Herpetological Monographs 11: 1-101). |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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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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vandenburgianus |
Southern Sagebrush Lizard |
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Original Description |
Sceloporus graciosus - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69
Sceloporus vandenburgianus - Cope, 1896 - Amer. Nat., Vol. 30, p. 834
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..."
vandenburgianus- honors Van Denburgh, John
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Sceloporus vandenburgianus - Southern Sagebrush Lizard (Recognized as a full species)
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Sceloporus graciosus gracilis - Western Sagebrush Lizard
Sceloporus graciosus graciosus - Northern 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., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
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.
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 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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 Wildlife |
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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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