A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Zebra-tailed Lizard - Callisaurus draconiodes

Western Zebra-tailed Lizard - Callisaurus draconoides rhodostictus

Cope, 1896

Click on a picture for a larger view

Description • Taxonomy • Species Description • Scientific Name • Alt. Names • Similar Herps • References • Conservation Status

Western Zebra-tailed Lizard California Range Map

Red: Range in California

Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names

Southwest Page

(Non-breeding season) adult male, Kern County

Breeding adult female, Kern County

Adult female, Kern County

Adult female, Kern County, missing the end of her tail.

Adult male, San Bernardino County, showing no stripes on the underside.

Adult male, San Diego County

Adult female, Kern County

Juvenile, Kern County

Adult male, Kern County

Adult male from dark lava flow area,
San Bernardino County

Adult female, Kern County

Adult male, San Diego County
© Bruce Edley

Adult male, San Bernardino County
© Brad Alexander

Adult male, Inyo County. © Carl R. Brune. Males typically have two dark stripes on the sides and undersides, but this unusual male has three dark stripes.

Adult female, Riverside County © Dan Schroeter

Adult male, Kern County © Todd Battey

Adult male in threat display,
Clark County Nevada © David Walton

Underside of adult male,
San Diego County © Bruce Edley

Young adult male, Mono County
© Adam G. Clause

Adult male (left) and female (right) Riverside County © James R. Buskirk

Adult, Kern County

As you can see on this adult female in Kern County, when running, zebra-tailed lizards raise up and wave their tail to show the zebra-like black and white bars on the bottom of the tail. This draws the predator's attention to the more expendable tail and away from the vulnerable body.

Adult male, Inyo County.

Zebra-tailed lizards are very tolerant of extreme heat. The air temperature was 100 degrees F. when this lizard was seen out in the sun on top of a rock. The temperature of the rock was 130 degrees F. ! (54.44 C.)

Adult male, San Bernardino County
© Terry Goyan

Adult male, San Bernardio County
© Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg

Adult female, Kern County
This close-up shows the fringed protective scales around the eyes, the third eye on top of the head, and the ear on side of the head behind the eye (which can help differentiate a zebra-tailed lizard from a similar earless lizard.)

Zebra-tailed Lizards, genus Callisaurus, have smooth granular scales on their upper sides.

Habitat

Habitat, sandy wash, San Diego County

Habitat, sandy wash during a good spring wildflower bloom (1998), Riverside County

Habitat, Kern County

Inland habitat, creek flowing out of San Gabriel Mountains near Cajon Pass, Riverside County

Habitat, windblown sand and sandy wash, San Bernardino County

Habitat, lava flow,
San Bernardino County

Habitat, rocky wash, Inyo County

Habitat, Kern County

Short Videos

This video shows several views of zebra-tailed lizards from the Colorado Desert in San Diego County, waving their striped tails to divert attention away from their main body, running off quickly, and doing the territorial push-up display.

One early afternoon during a summer cold front in the Mohave Desert in Kern County, I was able to get close to several zebra-tailed lizards and follow them around as they moved relatively slowly compared to how fast they move when it's hot.

On a late spring day in Kern County I followed this zebra-tailed lizard around its sandy wash habitat. Most zebra-tails run away as fast as they can, but this one seemed curious of the large hairless ape with a funny hat crawling on its knees and only ran a short distance then stopped, allowing me to approach her closely again. But she still exhibits the flight behavior typical of this species - wagging her striped tail as a distraction from her body, and even doing a push-up display warning me not to come any closer.

Description

Size

2.5 - 4 inches from snout to vent (6 - 10 cm), up to almost 9 inches including tail.

Appearance

A pale thin lizard with very long legs and a long flat tail with black crossbars.
Scales are small and granular.

Color and Pattern

Gray or light brown above with light spots and paired dark blotches, which are more distinct on females.
As with many lizards, the coloring is darker during lower temperatures, and lighter with very high temperatures.

Dark crossbars or bands on the tail become very distinct black and white underneath.
This black and white zebra-like pattern gives this lizard its name.

There is pale yellow and orange coloring on the sides and the center of the throat often has a pink or orange spot.

Male / Female Differences

Males have two dark bars and develop a patch of blue-green coloring on the sides of the mid belly, which is visible when viewed from the side, during the breeding season.
Dark belly markings are faint or absent on females.

Life History and Behavior

Activity

Diurnal.
Tolerant of high temperatures.
Often seen basking on rocks, even on extremely hot afternoons.
A countersunk lower jaw makes it easier for this lizard to burrow into loose or sandy soil to rest.

Defense

Capable of running very fast (possibly the fastest lizard in the desert) facilitated by long legs and streamlined body.
After speeding away, this lizard sometimes stops far ahead in the open, but it will also run to the far side of a bush, out of view, or into a bush or burrow for protection.
Before running, a lizard may curl the tail up towards the back, exposing the black and white bars, and wag it nervously, then continue this behavior while running and after stopping.
This tail display tactic concentrates a predator's attention on the tail, which, if attacked and broken off, can grow back.
More information about tail loss and regeneration.

Diet and Feeding

Small invertebrates such as insects and spiders, small lizards, occasional plant material.

Reproduction

Mating occurs in Spring. Eggs are laid June - August.

Habitat

Open sandy desert washes, desert pavement, and hard pan, with scant widely-spaced vegetation and open areas. Sometimes found in wind-blown sand dunes near hard-packed ground.

Geographical Range

In California, this species inhabits the Mojave and Colorado Deserts up to the desert slopes of the Peninsular and Transverse Mountains, and from the Owens Valley north along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Found on the coastal slopes of the mountains at San Jacinto Wash and Cajon Wash, where one was observed as far south as the Santa Ana River.

In 1917 Grinnell and Camp listed the range as also occuring at Vallevista, in San Jacinto Valley, Riverside County and Oak Springs, San Diego County.

The species ranges outside California north into northern Nevada, east into extreme southwest Utah, south through Arizona and extreme southwest New Mexico, to the cape region of Baja California and across the gulf along the west coast of Mexico.

Notes on Taxonomy

Some experts do not recognize any subspecies of Callisaurus draconoides.

Others recognize three subspecies occurring in the United States:
C. d. rhodostictus, Western Zebra-tailed Lizard
C. d. myurus - Northern Zebra-tailed Lizard
C. d. ventralis - Eastern (or Arizona) Zebra-tailed Lizard

Some experts classify this lizard as Callisaurus draconoides draconoides - Common Zebra-tailed Lizard.

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Callisaurus draconoides draconoides - Common Zebra-tailed Lizard (Stebbins 1985, 2003)
Callisaurus draconoides - Zebra-tailed Lizard (Stebbins 1966)
Callisaurus draconoides gabbi - Common Gridiron-tailed Lizard (Smith 1946)
Callisaurus ventralis ventralis - Southern Gridiron-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides; Callisaurus draconoides ventralis; Callisaurus draconoides gabbii;
Zebra-tailed Lizard; Spotted-tail Dragon; Beautiful Lizard) (Grinnell and Camp 1917)

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None

Taxonomy
Family	Phrynosomatidae	Zebra-tailed, Earless, Fringe-toed, Spiny, Tree, Side-blotched, and Horned Lizards	Fitzinger, 1843
Genus	Callisaurus	Zebra-tailed Lizards	Blainville, 1835
Species	draconoides	Zebra-tailed Lizard	Blainville, 1835
Subspecies	rhodostictus	Western Zebra-tailed Lizard	Cope, 1896
Original Description
Callisaurus draconoides - Blainville, 1835 - Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, Vol. 4, p. 286, pl. 24, fig. 2 Callisaurus draconoides rhodostictus - Cope, 1896 - Amer. Nat., Vol. 30, p. 1049 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Callisaurus - Greek kalos beautiful and saurus lizard - "we have given the name Callisaurus to indicate the extreme beauty of this little animal." draconoides - Greek draco dragon and -eidos similarity to a - the species of true dragons rhodostictus - Greek rhodon - rose, red color and Greek stiktos - dotted or dappled from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Related or Similar California Lizards
Uma notata - Colorado Desert Fringe-toed Lizard Uma inornata - Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Uma scoparia - Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard
More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife 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. Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021. Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018. 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. Joseph Grinnell and Charles Lewis Camp. A Distributional List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Publications in Zoology Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 127-208. July 11, 1917.

Conservation Status
The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the January 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the January 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals. A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page. If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings. 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	Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
IUCN

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