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Adult, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
Adult, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
Adult, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
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Adult, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
Adult, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
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Adult male, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
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Adult female, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
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Underside of adult male S. occidentalis showing enlarged femoral pores |
Adult male Western Fence Lizard with ticks on the side of the head.
A protein in the blood of the Western Fence Lizard kills the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Bacteria carried by a tick that bites a lizard are destroyed as the tick ingests the lizard's blood. More Info. |
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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 |
Habitat |
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Habitat, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County
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Habitat, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
Habitat, 8,000 ft., Tuolumne County |
Short Video |
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Sierra Fence lizards run around a rocky area in the woods high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. |
This is a Short Video of two Coast Range Fence Lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii shot during the breeding season in early May in San Benito County. The first lizard, a female, has moved from her perch on a rock to a nearby rock in order to get away from the photographer. She begins a territorial push-up display when a male comes up the side of the rock and begins to pursue her. She arches her back and hops away in order to reject him. She may have already mated and is bearing eggs, or maybe he is not her type. He finally stops and does a push-up display, possibly to continue trying to entice her, or possibly to warn the photographer that this is his territory.
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| Description |
| Size |
| 2.25 - 3.5 inches long from snout to vent (5.7 - 8.9 cm). (Stebbins 2003) The largest of the Western Fence Lizards. |
| Appearance |
A fairly small lizard with keeled and pointed dorsal scales of equal size on the back, sides, and belly. Scales on the backs of the thighs are mostly keeled, and abruptly smaller, and the rear of the limbs is yellow or orange. The sides of the belly are blue.
Color is brown, gray, or black with blotches. Sometimes light markings on the sides of the backs form stripes or irregular lines, and sometimes dark blotching may form irregular bands.
Males usually have a nearly entirely blue belly and throat, enlarged postanals, and a swollen tail base. Some scales on the back become blue or greenish when a lizard is in the light phase.
Females have faint or absent blue markings on the belly, no blue or green color on the upper surfaces, and dark bars or crescents on the back.
Juveniles have little or no blue on the throat and faint blue belly markings or none at all. |
| Behavior and Natural History |
| Common and easily encountered in the right habitat. Diurnal. Often seen basking in the sun on rocks or downed logs. Prefers open sunny areas. Males defend their territory and try to attract females with head-bobbing and a push-up display that exposes the blue throat and ventral colors. The tail detaches easily to distract a potential predator. Active when temperatures are warm, becomes inactive during periods of extreme heat or cold. This lizard's habitat is snow-covered much of the year. |
| Diet |
| Eats small invertebrates such as crickets, spiders, ticks, and scorpions, and occasionally eats small lizards including its own species. |
| Reproduction |
| Mates in spring or after snows melt. Lays 1 - 3 clutches of 3 - 17 eggs. Eggs hatch in about 60 days. |
| Range |
This subspecies is endemic to California. Found in upper elevations (generally above 7,000 ft.) on the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the Tuolumne River drainage to Sequoia National Park.
The species ranges from northern Baja California north to Washington and east to Idaho, Nevada and Utah. |
| Habitat |
| Open, sunny, rocky areas in high-elevation forests, especially areas with large rock outcrops or rock slides. From 7,000 - 11,000 ft. (1,800 to 3,353 m). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Taxonomic Notes |
The taxonomy of Sceloporus occidentalis needs to be studied further. For years six subspecies have been recognized based on geographic variation in morphology, but molecular studies have identified 4 major clades and 11 different genetic groups in California (James Archie, Cal State University Long Beach). Many authorities have already accepted research that concludes that S. o. becki, the Island Fence Lizard, is a unique species - S. becki. (Wiens & Reeder, 1997) (Bell, 2001)
If it is determined that more of these genetic groups are significantly unique, S. occidentalis could be split into more species and/or the current arrangement of subspecies could be changed. Some experts no longer recognize any subspecies of S. occidentalis pending further studies. (Stebbins 2003) The February 2001 SSAR Circular No. 29, and 2003 update, on which our California State species lists are based, recognizes six subspecies. I will continue to do the same until the new list is published (some time in late 2007 or early 2008) or until I learn of changes based on accepted published work.
The range map is based on Ryan Calsbeek's distribution map. |
| 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 |
occidentalis |
Western Fence Lizard |
| Subspecies |
taylori |
Sierra Fence Lizard
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Original Description |
Sceloporus occidentalis - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Prox. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 175
Sceloporus occidentalis taylori - Camp, 1916 - Univ. California Publ. Zool. Vol. 17, p. 65
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
occidentalis - Latin - western - refers to its western distribution
taylori - honors Taylor, Edward H.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Bluebelly or Blue-bellied Lizard
Fence Lizard
Swift
Formerly called the Yosemite Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis - Western Fence Lizard (no subspecies recognized)
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Western Fence Lizards:
Sceloporus occidentalis becki - Island Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis biseriatus - San Joaquin Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii - Coast Range Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis longipes - Great Basin Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis - Northwestern Fence Lizard
Sagegrush Lizards:
S. graciosus graciosus - Northern Sagebrush Lizard
S. graciosus gracilis - Western Sagebrush Lizard
S. graciosus vandenburgianus - Southern Sagebrush 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.
Wiens & Reeder (1997 Herpetological Monographs 11: 1-101)
Bell (2001 Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 37(4): 137-142)
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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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Range in California: Purple 
