Prairie Racerunner

Posted on August 27, 2016 by tspuckler

What’s the fastest lizard in the land? Here in the United States, that distinction would go to racerunners, which have been clocked at 18 miles per hour. While visiting the sandhill prairies of Illinois, I caught a few of the reptile speedsters.

Related to the whiptail lizards of the western US, these are a day-active species which prefer a habitat of scrubby areas and sandy substrate for burrowing. This liazrd’s close relative, the Six-lined Racerunner, resides in the southeastern United States.

As its name implies, the racerunner is extremely fast and agile. These lizards are quite striking in appearance. Adult males obtain a vibrant green coloration on their heads and necks. Like its relative to the east, the Six-lined Raxcerunner, this subspecies has six pale blue or yellow horizontal lines that run along the length of its 6-10 inch body.

This reptile has to be quick to grab dinner as well escape being eaten by predators. Insects and spiders comprise the bulk of the diet, though other prey of suitable size may also be eaten. The Prairie Racerunner is a very active forager. It moves along the ground with quick, jerky movements as it samples smells with its tongue while it looks about.

It was very cool to come across this midwest speed specialist while visiting the Land of Lincoln.

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Ornate Tree Lizard

Posted on June 11, 2016 by tspuckler

Hiking in the Cerbat Mountains last week, I came across a few examples of this reptile. Although they are called “tree lizards,” they often spend a lot of time on rocks. Tree lizards are found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This lizard is an excellent climber and it is commonly seen basking and foraging on logs, boulders and trees.

Ornate Tree Lizards are slim, gray-brown, and feature an ornate pattern of thin, dark lines. They eat variety of insects including aphids, beetles, flies, ants, bees, wasps, termites, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets. They also feed on a variety of spiders.

They are a behaviorally complex species. Males are quite territorial, at least during the breeding season; I saw them arch their backs and display their bright yellow and blue colors to each other while I observed them on my hike. The territorial displays also include “push-ups” and extending their brightly colored throat dewlaps.

Ornate Tree Lizards tend to bask in the morning and then shuttle between shade and sun to maintain a fairly constant body temperature. This reptile is relatively short-lived. It matures and produces multiple egg clutch species. Very few individuals live to an age of three or more years.

The species has been used to research the physiological changes in the body during the fight-or-flight response as related to stress and aggressive competition.

It was a neat lizard to encounter in a remote place and made for an enjoyable morning.

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American Alligator

Posted on April 9, 2016 by tspuckler

When visiting South Carolina during the first week in March, I had the chance to get reacquainted with a reptile I haven’t seen in awhile, due to not having visited the southeast states (they only place where they live) in 20 years.

The American Alligator inhabits freshwater wetlands, such as marshes and cypress swamps from Texas to North Carolina. Large individuals can be more than 10 feet in total length. Like other reptiles, they warm themselves in the sun on cool days, as these were doing.

These reptiles are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. They also play an important role in the ecosystem through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other creatures.

The American Alligator propels itself through the water with its muscular, flat tail. The skin on the back is armored with embedded bony plates called osteoderms or scutes. Their long snout with upward-facing nostrils at the end lets them breathe while the rest of their body is under water.

Historically, hunting decimated their population, and they were listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from the list in 1987. It is a rare success story of an endangered animal, not only saved from extinction, but that is now thriving.

American Alligators are long-lived animals whose life spans can exceed 60 years. Alligators and their relatives are the last of the living reptiles that were closely related to dinosaurs, and their closest modern kin are birds. There is only one other alligator species, the Chinese Alligator.

The American Alligator is the official state reptile of three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

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Green Anole

Posted on March 6, 2016 by tspuckler

On my recent trip to South Carolina I had a chance to get reacquainted with a reptile from my childhood. As a kid I kept Green Anoles as pets in the classroom in grade school as well as at home.

Despite its name, this lizard can be either green or brown depending, on environmental conditions. When brown, it may have faint markings on the back. It is sometimes referred to as the “American Chameleon” due to its ability to change color from several brown hues to bright green.

These lizards are active by day in warm weather and often bask in vegetation, occasionally charging away from their basking spots to grab an insect or chase off a rival Anole. During cool weather anoles are often found hiding under tree bark, shingles or in rotten logs. Sometimes several of these reptiles can be found taking refuge in one spot.

The Green Anole’s head is long and pointed with ridges between the eyes and nostrils, and smaller ridges on the top of the head. The toes have adhesive pads to facilitate climbing.

This creatures diet consists of small insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, spiders and other arthropods.

The male anole performs a series of visual displays to establish dominance and territory. It will bob its head up and down, do “pushups” and flare its pink dewlap.

It was cool to come across these reptiles at several places that I visited on my trip to Hilton Head.

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Western Banded Gecko

Posted on May 30, 2015 by tspuckler

This is a small, nocturnal and delicate-looking lizard with large eyes featuring vertical pupils. This lizard’s eyelids are edged in white. Its small scales are granular and soft and its toes are slender.

The tail is about as long as the body and usually has indistinct rings. There is a constriction at the base of the otherwise bulky tail. Males have spurs on either side of the body at the base of the tail.

The Western Banded Gecko occurs in the Mohave and Sonoran deserts and is found in open, arid areas, desert grassland, canyons and hillsides. It is usually associated with rocks or other shelters, but is also is found in sandy dunes.

Active mainly at night, they sometimes can be seen crossing roads during the Summer. When running, they carry their tail curved and over their back. It has been suggested that this mimics the scorpions that share the same habitat.

It avoids the heat of the day by hiding under logs, debris and within moist rock crevices. It can make a squeaking sound if frightened. The tail has specialized fracture planes that allow it to easily break off. However, the regenerated tail is shorter than the original and has different colors, patterns and scales than the original.

The Western Banded Gecko feeds mainly on small insects and spiders. Prey is stalked in a cat-like manner with the lizard often twitching its tail (like a cat); then, with a final lunge, it is captured in the jaws. After a meal, the gecko cleans its face with its tongue. This small reptile is perhaps the most charming of all the desert inhabitants that I regularly come across when visiting the Las Vegas area.

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California Legless Lizard

Posted on May 9, 2015 by tspuckler

This weekend I had an encounter with a reptile that I’ve never seen before. As adults, California Legless Lizards are around 8 inches in total length. They have small, smooth scales typically colored silver above and yellow below. These lizards have blunt tails.

They live in loose, sandy soils or leaf litter, typically in sand dunes along the coast. These unusual lizards burrow easily through the sand and feed on sowbugs, spiders, insects and insect larvae. They are found only in California and northern Baja.

How can a reptile that looks so much like a snake be a lizard? One difference is that the California Legless Lizard has moveable eyelids (something snakes do not have). Also, unlike most snakes, many lizards, they have the ability to purposely detach their tails to avoid being eaten by predators.

Millions of years ago, lizards on five continents independently lost their limbs in order to burrow more quickly into sand or soil, wriggling like snakes. This particular type of reptile is so secretive that in 2013 four new species were discovered in California.

It was awesome to finally see one of these elusive creatures “in person.”

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Desert Night Lizard

Posted on May 24, 2014 by tspuckler

I came across this secretive lizard of arid and semi-arid habitats this week. It is not often seen. During the day it may be found under fallen debris of desert plants and under rocks. It is usually found near yucca plants.

This is the tiniest lizard in the Mojave Desert, reaching 1½ to 2¾ inches long, with a tail roughly the same length. The lizard’s coloring is usually gray, yellow-brownish or olive. It is a slim, velvet-skinned lizard.

Despite their name, night lizards are active during the day. They are good climbers and usually eats termites, small insects, spiders and other invertebrates. They are the only lizards in the southwest that do not have eyelids, so like snakes, their eyes are always open.

Like all night lizards, the Desert Night Lizard does not lay eggs, instead it gives birth to live young, producing 1 to 3 young from August to December.

The Desert Night Lizard displays unusual behavior for a lizard in that it forms family social groups with a father-mother pair and offspring. The baby lizards may stay with their parents for years before going out on their own.

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Side-blotched Lizard

Posted on May 19, 2014 by tspuckler

These are the most abundant and commonly observed lizards in the Las Vegas-area desert. They commonly grow to six inches long; their relatively small size enables them to warm up quickly and be active at cooler temperatures than most other desert reptiles.

Males often have bright throat colors and can be quite beautiful. They are also amusing to watch, as they exhibit an array of behaviors, like doing “push ups” or walking around just using their front feet while their back end drags behind them.

Because of their small size and widespread distribution, Side-blotched Lizards are prey items for many desert species. Snakes, larger lizards and birds all have them on the menu. In turn, these reptiles eat arthropods, such as insects, spiders, and occasionally scorpions.

Side-blotched Lizards can be found in a wide variety of arid and semi-arid habitats with scattered shrubs growing in soil may be sandy, gravelly or rocky. The species is often found in sandy washes with scattered rocks and bushes.

It is a day-active reptile and is usually the first lizard species out in the morning. It is active mostly on the ground, but it is also a good climber. I often see Side-blotched Lizards basking on rocks or hopping from boulder to boulder.

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Western Skink

Posted on April 8, 2014 by tspuckler

The Western Skink has a shiny appearance due to its smooth, glossy, rounded scales. It is brown with golden-yellow or cream stripes extending from its nose to its tail. Younger individuals have brilliant blue tails that become dull as they age.

Western Skinks readily autotomize (lose) their tails and the bright blue coloration found on juveniles may add to the wriggling tail’s distraction as the reptile makes an escape. They aren’t very large lizards, typically being 5 to 6 inches in total length.

Females exhibit parental care for their eggs. The skink will stay with the eggs, protecting them against predators, repairing the nest and possibly providing additional heat by basking and then returning to the nest.

They avoid can be found in a variety of habitats, including dry oak woodlands, on mountains with southern rock outcroppings and open grasslands where there is ample cover like rocks and logs.

Western Skinks can eat a wide variety of foods, including crickets, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, spiders and earthworms.

It is always a joy to come across one of these small wonders; and I frequently do when visiting the Golden State.

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Desert Iguana

Posted on June 8, 2013 by tspuckler

An adult desert iguana is large for a lizard, measuring head-to-tail 10-16 inches. The tail makes up most of the lizard’s length. Their genus is Dipsosaurus, which translates to “thirsty lizard.”

Active in daylight, desert iguanas change color to regulate body temperature. They are darkest in the morning to absorb more heat from the sun, and they will turn nearly pure white by early afternoon to reflect sunlight. These lizards can stand hotter temperatures than most, remaining on 115º F days.

Though desert iguanas seem to prefer open, relatively flat habitat, they rely heavily on the Creosote Bush in these areas for a number of needs. This plant provides some of the lizard’s diet (flowers), and the lizard burrows around and under the plant’s roots to avoid extreme temperatures and predators.

I always enjoy seeing this large, heat-loving “classic” desert reptile.

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Reptile Ramblings and More

Category Archives: Lizards

Prairie Racerunner

Ornate Tree Lizard

American Alligator

Green Anole

Western Banded Gecko

California Legless Lizard

Desert Night Lizard

Side-blotched Lizard

Western Skink

Desert Iguana