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California Side-blotched Lizard
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Lacertilia (=Sauria) (lizards)
- Family: Iguanidae (iguanid lizards)
- Subfamily: Phrynosomatinae (spiny and horned
lizards)
- Genus: Uta (side-blotched lizards)
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| Also Known As Uta
(pronounced "oota") |
Scientific Name: Uta stansburiana
elegans Yarrow, 1882 |
| Habitat: Deserts and
scrubland. |
Uta=state of Utah, stansburiana in
honor of expeditionary surveyor Howard S. Stansbury who collected
the first specimen, elegans="elegant"
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| Length: Up to 6.5 inches. |
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| Food: Insects and
arachnids. |
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These lizards are near the bottom of the food
chain in most places they inhabit. They're often the most
commonly-seen lizard wherever they are found. They consume a
variety of different insects, and in turn are eaten by birds,
snakes, and other lizards.
This first picture is a female found on the Palm
Canyon Trail at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. |
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| This picture is also from the
Palm Canyon Trail. This is a male. Males are typically
more brightly colored. Notice the orange tint to the face. |
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| This final picture is also of a
male, but this individual is much darker than any of the other
ones I saw. The spots on his back were sky blue. |
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| Compare these specimens to the side-blotched
lizard I found in Nevada, the one
from Texas, and the one in New
Mexico. |
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