Prairie Lizard
Sceloporus consobrinus
Click here to view the Prairie Lizard photo page!
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Map accurate as of 1/31/2024
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Here, we provide separate information for each of two former subspecies of Sceloporus undulatus (Sceloporus undulatus garmani and Sceloporus undulatus erythrocheilus). Both subspecies have been assigned to Sceloporus consobrinus (see Leaché and Reeder 2002).
General Distribution:
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Populations formerly referred to as to Sceloporus undulatus garmani: West of the Mississippi from Louisiana to Missouri, west to southeastern New Mexico and southeastern Wyoming, and north into southern South Dakota.
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Populations formerly referred to as to Sceloporus undulatus erythrocheilus: From Converse county Wyoming south along eastern foothills of Rocky Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Range to Santa Fe, New Mexico. East in the high mesa country of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico to extreme western Oklahoma.
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Colorado Distribution: The range of Sceloporus consobrinus in Colorado is confused primarily because it is unclear which former subspecies of Sceloporus undulatus besides S. u. garmani should be assigned to the species. Here we follow the most recent treatment based on Leaché and Reeder (2002), but for completeness, we also include relevant subspecific/historical designations of the 'old' Sceloporus undulatus complex adapted from Hammerson (1999). Click here for more details.
Conservation Status: Nongame species in Colorado. NatureServe rank: Not ranked, Colorado Natural Heritage Program: Not ranked. General threats include habitat loss and fragmentation.
Diagnostic Features:
Diagnostic Features:
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Populations formerly referred to as S. u. garmani: Above light brown with a gray stripe down midline bordered by a series of dark brown chevrons, a distinct continuous light tan stripe, and distinct continuous dark brown to black side stripe. In males there is an elongated metallic blue patch on each side of the belly but none on throat. No black mottling on underside of body. Females lack metallic blue patches and are uniform white below.
Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. garmani). Adult male. Weld County, Colorado. Photo by Tom Mathies.
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Populations formerly referred to as S. u. erythrocheilus: Above mottled brown to grayish, with a series of dark cross bars or chevrons both sides of midline and lighter side stripe. There is an elongated metallic blue patch on each side of the belly and each side of the throat. Both patches are more extensive in males than females. The throat patches typically meet at midline. In males the chin, lips, and parts of the face may have a strong yellow to deep orange coloration, particularly in spring. Females may show yellow or orange color but this is always less intense than in males. Males may have substantial black coloration and mottling on underside of body.
Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. garmani). Gravid female. Platte County, Wyoming. © Dan Lewis, Wyoming Naturalist.
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Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. erythrocheilus). Adult male. Fremont County, Colorado. ©
Barbara Magnuson / Larry Kimball
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Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. erythrocheilus). Adult female. Pike National Forest, Colorado. ©
Barbara Magnuson / Larry Kimball
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Size:
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Populations formerly referred to as S. u. garmani: Males smaller than females. Mature females from Arthur and Keith Counties, Nebraska averged 54 (2.1 in) snout-vent length (Ballinger et al. 1981). No Colorado data available.
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Populations formerly referred to as S. u. erythrocheilus: Males smaller than females. Average snout-vent length for males from Boulder County is 62 mm (2.4 in) for males and 67 mm (2.6 in) for females (Ferner 1976).
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Habitat:
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Populations formerly referred to as to S. u. garmani: Typically a plains lizard. In Colorado generally associated with soft sandy soils in sand sage habitat. Although not a rock-dweller, sometimes associated with sandstone or limestone-capped bluffs.
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Populations formerly referred to as to S. u. erythrocheilus: Exclusively rock-dwelling. Cliffs, rim rock along mesas and buttes, outcroppings, and exposed rocky areas in stream beds, arroyos, and canyons as well as stone and cement structures such as houses, walls, and bridges.
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Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. garmani). Habitat. Weld County, Colorado.
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Sceloporus consobrinus (= S. u. erythrocheilus). Habitat. Otero County, Colorado.
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Activity: March-April to mid-September-late October.
Reproduction: Lays eggs
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Populations formerly referred to S. u. garmani: Females in Nebraska lay 1-3 clutches of 4-8 eggs between mid-May and mid-July (Ballinger et al. 1981). Hatchlings appear from late July to mid-September.
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Populations formerly referred to as to S. u. erythrocheilus: Females in Huerfano County lay 1-2 clutches of 8-12 eggs between late May-early June to early-late July (Gillis and Ballinger 1992). Hatchlings first appear in August.
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Feeding & Diet: A sit-and-wait predator. Primarily consumes terrestrial arthropods.
Defenses from Predation: Relies on cryptic coloration but is always close to refugia in rocks, holes in ground, yuccas, or other surface cover in which they quickly take cover when approached.
Defenses from Predation: Relies on cryptic coloration but is always close to refugia in rocks, holes in ground, yuccas, or other surface cover in which they quickly take cover when approached.
Cited & Additional Resources
- Ballinger, R. E., D.L. Droge and S.M. Jones. 1981. Reproduction in a Nebraska sandhills population of the northern prairie lizard Sceloporus undulatus garmani. Papers in Herpetology. Paper 6. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciherpetology/6
- Degenhardt, W. G., C. W. Painter and A. H. Price.1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 431 pp.
- Douglas, C.L. 1966. Amphibians and reptiles of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.University of Kansas Publ. Museum Natural History 15:711-744.
- Ferguson, G.W., C.H. Bohlen and H.P. Woolley. 1980. Sceloporus undulatus: comparative life history and regulation of a Kansas population. Ecology 61:313–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1935190
- Ferner, J.W. 1976. Notes on natural history and behavior of Sceloporus undulatus erythrocheilus in Colorado.American Midland Naturalist 96: 291-302.
- Gillis, R. and R.E. Ballinger. 1992. Reproductive ecology of red-chinned lizards (Sceloporus undulatus erythrocheilus) in Southcentral Colorado: comparisons with other populations of a wide-ranging species. Oecologia 89:236-243.
- Hammerson, G. A. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. 2nd ed. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. 484 pp.
- Leaché, A.D. and T.W. Reeder. 2002. Molecular systematics of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): a comparison of parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. Systematic Biology 51:44-68.
- Leaché, A.D. 2009. Species tree discordance traces to phylogeographic clade boundaries in North American fence lizards (Sceloporus). Systematic Biology 58:547-559.
- Tinkle, D.W. and R.E. Ballinger. 1972. Sceloporus undulatus: a study of the intraspecific comparative demography of a lizard. Ecology 53:570-584.
Account compiled by: Tom Mathies and Joseph Ehrenberger
Reviewed by: Lauren Livo
Last updated: 4/14/2022 by Rémi Pattyn
Suggested Citation
Colorado Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 2014. Species account for the Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus). Compiled by Tom Mathies and Joseph Ehrenberger. http://www.coparc.org/prairie-lizard.html [accessed date here].
Reviewed by: Lauren Livo
Last updated: 4/14/2022 by Rémi Pattyn
Suggested Citation
Colorado Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 2014. Species account for the Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus). Compiled by Tom Mathies and Joseph Ehrenberger. http://www.coparc.org/prairie-lizard.html [accessed date here].
