Species: Sceloporus occidentalis

Western Fence Lizard
Species

    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.

    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Reptilia

    Order

    Squamata

    Family

    Phrynosomatidae

    Genus

    Sceloporus

    Classification
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Reptiles - Lizards
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Reptilia - Squamata - Phrynosomatidae - Sceloporus - .

    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.

    Migration
    true - false - false
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Eats mainly insects (e.g. beetles, flies, caterpillars, and ants) and spiders.
    Reproduction Comments
    Courtship and mating generally occur in spring. Egg laying extends from April or May to June or July in most areas. Eggs are buried in loose soil or secluded in old logs or under rocks. Clutch size in different areas ranges from 3 to 17; clutch size tends to increase with female size, latitude, and elevation. Eggs hatch in about 2 months, mostly in August or September in many areas. Individuals first breed in the spring of their second year (Nussbaum et al. 1983, Stebbins 1985).
    Ecology Comments
    Adult males defend home range during breeding season. Seasonal home range generally much less than 0.01 ha in central California (Davis and Ford 1983). Predators: predatory birds and snakes.<br><br>When individuals on tree trunks are approached closely, they often move to the other side of the trunk.
    Length
    24
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2005-07-20
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-10-28
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.CA=SNR&US.ID=S4&US.MT=SU&US.NV=S5&US.OR=S5&US.UT=S3&US.WA=S4" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - The range extends from Washington and southeastern Idaho south through Oregon, California, Nevada, and western Utah to northwestern Baja California (Bell and Price 1996, Grismer 2002, Stebbins 2003), and disjunctly south to Isla de Cedros (Grismer and Mellink, 1994, J. Herpetol. 28:120-126). Elevational range extends from sea level to about 11,000 feet (3,353 meters) (Bell and Price 1996, Stebbins 2003).
    Global Range Code
    G
    Global Range Description
    200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106465