Species: Sceloporus occidentalis
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

The scales on the back are fairly large, keeled, and pointed. Coloration is highly variable, but often the back is gray, brown, or black, with a series of wavy dark and light bands across the back or a row of somewhat V-shaped dark blotches along each side of the back. ; rear of thigh yellow or orange; scales on rear of thigh mostly keeled; up to 3.9 inches (9.9 cm) snout-vent length. Breeding males have a blue patch on the throat (sometimes partially divided), a blue black-edged patch on each side of the belly (in some areas there may be a single large blue patch on the belly), sometimes blue or greenish scales on the back, a pair of enlarged scales behind the vent, and two swellings from hemipenes (copulatory organs) on the underside of the tail base. Breeding females and small young lack blue scales on the back, and the blue markings on the underside are faint or absent; they also lack enlarged scales behind the vent and have no swellings at the tail base.
Classification
Reptilia
Squamata
Phrynosomatidae
Sceloporus
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
The scales on the back are fairly large, keeled, and pointed. Coloration is highly variable, but often the back is gray, brown, or black, with a series of wavy dark and light bands across the back or a row of somewhat V-shaped dark blotches along each side of the back. ; rear of thigh yellow or orange; scales on rear of thigh mostly keeled; up to 3.9 inches (9.9 cm) snout-vent length. Breeding males have a blue patch on the throat (sometimes partially divided), a blue black-edged patch on each side of the belly (in some areas there may be a single large blue patch on the belly), sometimes blue or greenish scales on the back, a pair of enlarged scales behind the vent, and two swellings from hemipenes (copulatory organs) on the underside of the tail base. Breeding females and small young lack blue scales on the back, and the blue markings on the underside are faint or absent; they also lack enlarged scales behind the vent and have no swellings at the tail base.
Conservation Status
LC - Least concern