Species: Elgaria multicarinata

Southern Alligator Lizard
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Reptilia

    Order

    Squamata

    Family

    Anguidae

    Genus

    Elgaria

    Classification
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Reptiles - Lizards
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Reptilia - Squamata - Anguidae - Elgaria - Molecular data support recognition of the family Anniellidae and anguid subfamilies Gerrhonotinae and Anguinae as monophyletic groups (Macey et al. 1999).
    Migration
    true - false - false
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Eats a wide variety of invertebrates including: slugs, insects, centipedes, scorpions, and spiders. Also eats small vertebrates: lizards, small mammals, and occasionally eggs and young of birds (Stebbins 1985).
    Reproduction Comments
    Lays 1-3 clutches May-July (Stebbins 1985). Clutch size varies with the size of the female but usually is 5-20. Hatchlings emerge around September or October (Nussbaum et al. 1983).
    Ecology Comments
    Sometimes enters water to escape predators. Eurythermic during activity (J. Herpetol. 27:241-247).
    Length
    43
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2005-05-13
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-10-23
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.CA=SNR&US.OR=S5&US.WA=S4" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    FG - 20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles) - FG - The range is primarily west of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada crest from south-central Washington and north-central Oregon (mainly west of Cascade crest) south through western Oregon and California to northern Baja California, including islands off southern California and northern Baja California (Stebbins 2003). Isolated populations exist east of the Sierra Nevada at Grant Lake, Mono County, California; Alabama Hills and Walker Pass, Kern County, California; Walker Creek near Olancha, Inyo County, California, and along the Mojave River, California; there is also an isolated occurrence at Sierra La Asamblea, Baja California Sur (Stebbins 2003). The species was introduced at Las Vegas, Nevada (Stebbins 2003). Unconfirmed sight record at Boulder Beach Campground, Clark County, Nevada (Stebbins 2003). DNA data suggest that the population on San Nicolas Island, California, may have been recently transported there (Mahoney et al. 2003). Elevational range is from sea level to around 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) (Stebbins 2003).
    Global Range Code
    FG
    Global Range Description
    20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102703