Longnose Leopard Lizard

leopardlizardbg: Longnose Leopard LizardCOMMON NAME: Longnose Leopard Lizard

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Gambelia wislizenii

DESCRIPTION:

Leopard lizards run with forelimbs raised when running fast. They will attempt to bite if captured. This 8 1/2 to 15 inch (total length) lizard, with a rounded body, a long round tail, and a large head. It is ground color, gray, pinkish, brown or yellowish-brown above. Many dark spots and white cross bars are evident on the body and tail. The color darkens in cool temperatures.

LIFE HISTORY:

A clutch, of 1 to 8 eggs, is laid between March and June. A second clutch is sometimes laid by lizards in areas with longer summers. Gravid (carrying eggs) females have red-orange spots and bars on their sides.

ECOLOGY:

Niche: Leopard lizards eat insects (grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, termites), spiders, lizards, small rodents and occasionally soft leaves, blossoms and berries.

Habitat: This leopard lizard inhabits arid and semiarid plains with bunch grass, alkali bush, sagebrush, creosote brush, or other scattered plants. It darts from bush to bush to hide in the shade as it searches for prey.

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