Lizards

Seven families of lizards are native to Arizona. Most lizards are diurnal, meaning they are most active during dusk and dawn when the extreme heat of the day is at a minimum.

If you see lizards stopped along the trail doing a pushup motion, this is actually a territorial sign, and there is likely another lizard in the vicinity. These pushups can also help body regulation, especially when they can't get enough sunlight.

Please remember to not pick up or harass any lizards you may find, the park is their home first and you should treat them the same as all other wildlife you may encounter.

 

Clark's Spiny Lizard sun themselves on a rock

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Clarks Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus clarkii)

This abundant lizard is most prevalent in oak and pine woodlands between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. They often are seen shuttling up and down tree trunks looking for food or avoiding predators. With a diet largely consisting of beetles, caterpillars, and wasps, the Clark's Spiny Lizards can be some of the largest lizards you see around Tuzigoot. Mostly gray and brown colored, males can also be seen with bright blue under-bellies. They are also identifiable by the black and white stipes on their forelimbs.

 

Desert Spiny Lizard on a sandstone rock

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Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)

Another large and stout lizard, Desert Spiny eat mainly spiders, beetles, and caterpillars.
Males also have an iridescent-blue shading along their sides and under-belly, as well as more orange and yellow coloration than the Clark Spiny Lizards do. If you are able to get close enough before one scurries off, you can also notice their large overlapping scales that help protect them from larger predators. These lizards are found from Lower Colorado Desert Scrub through Great Basin Confier Woodland, and often seen on trees and fences.

 

Male and female Eastern Collared Lizards resting on a rock

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Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

Eastern Collared Lizards can be easily spotted with their bright blue hues and black collared necks. These colorful individuals are also able to develop yellow tints on their head and feet during breeding season. They prefer semi-arid habitats and can be found all over the Southwest and as far east as Arkansas. Their diet consists of insects such as spiders, beetles, and grasshoppers. It is likely you will find these lizards resting on large boulders, basking in the sun.

 

Greater Earless Lizard perched on a rock

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Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)

Greater Earless Lizards are more commonly found in flat, sandy washes of the Chihauhaun Desert, but can also be found in the Verde Valley as it is the northernmost part of the Greater Earless' range. They are identifiable by the peachy-orange dots along its back, with yellow forelimbs. At night they will bury themselves into mounds of sand and simply pop back out in the morning before it gets too hot, a pattern you can witness if you're willing to beat the sunrise! Their most common prey are beetles, spiders, flies and bees, seizing them by ambush.

 

Ornate Tree Lizard on a rock

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Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)

These small, slim lizards are very agile with tails twice the length of their body. Only a little more than 2 inches in length, they can easily hide by blending in with surrounding tree branches. One way to identify these desert dwellers are the two parallel stripes of dark scales running down their back. Males have blue, green and yellow patches under their chins. You are most likely to see them hanging out on walls, fences, and building exteriors. Like most lizards, their favorite meals are ants, insects, and spiders. They are found from sea level up to 8,000 feet, and can be spotted pretty much anywhere in Arizona.

 

Common Side Blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana)

Another widespread lizard across much of Arizona, the Common Side-Blotched Lizards are gray and brown to orange and tan colored with a single black spot on each of their sides. Males have light blue scales along the top of their tails and more along their spine. They are found from Lower Colorado River Desert scrub to Plains Grasslands and usually seen on the ground under bushes or rock piles. They can be seen active year-round in lower elevations.

 

Plateau Striped Whiptail Lizard scurries along the ground

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Whiptail Lizards

In the Verde Valley there are two subspecies of Whiptail Lizards that are the most common: Gila Spotted and Plateau Striped. The Gila Spotted has parallel lines of small dots along their backs in between the thick yellow lines reaching from their head down to their tail. The Plateau Striped Whiptails lack the dots between their stripes, and tend to be more red-brownish than the Gila Spotted who are lighter in color. Whiptails spend most of the day foraging for insects and spiders by digging around surface level of soil. The most interesting part about these lizards is that they are parthenogenetic meaning every species is an a-sexual, all female lineage. They do this by laying unfertilized eggs that hatch into genetically identical females.

 

Zebra-tailed Lizard perched on a rock

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Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)

These tiny lizards are very entertaining to watch and are commonly seen on our trails in the spring and summer months. You can often see them wagging their tails back and forth, making it easy to identify with their black and white banded underside. Zebra-tailed Lizards are mostly found in the Sonoran, Great Basin, and Mojave deserts. They are so accustomed to high temperatures that they often remain active even during the hottest parts of the day. With sprint speeds topping 17 miles per hour, they are also one of the southwest's fastest lizards.

 

Gila Monster climbs up a rock

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Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)

These large and poisonous lizards are easy to identify with their chain/stripes patterned bead-like scales on the surfaces of their head and body and peachy-orange coloration. Their thick tail is used for fat storage, but unlike other lizards will not grow back if it is cut off. No other lizard is like them in Arizona, except the Common Chuckwalla, which prefers the southern desert habitat present in and around Phoenix. Although the Verde Valley used to be too high in elevation for this lizard, it is becoming more common to see them around trails across Prescott National Forest. Their presence or lack thereof is determined by available resources such as boulders, rocky crevices, and burrows. Gila Monsters prey upon nests of birds, lizards, and small mammals. Most Gila Monster bites result from careless handling, and anyone bitten should go to the hospital immediately.

 

Greater Short-horned Lizard gets some sun

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Greater Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi)

Greater Short-horned Lizards have a large habitat range from the grasslands of the high plains down through the arid Colorado Plateau. Their color variations and patterns change depending on their environment, often blending in to the soils they scurry along. In Northern Arizona they tend to be more of a burnt orange color, as seen in the photo on the right. They are flat lizards with wide bodies and are most active from April to September. They mostly eat ants but will also prey upon a variety of other insects. An interesting fact about Greater Short-horned Lizards is that mothers actually give birth to live young, which disperse shortly after birth and rely on natural instincts to survive on their own. They will tend to lie motionless, and can even squirt blood from their eyes when sensing danger.

 

Madrean Alligator Lizard climbs through leaves

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Madrean Alligator Lizard (Elgaria kingii)

One of the most secretive lizards of the Verde Valley, the Madrean Alligator Lizard tends to evade public eye and seeing one is a unique experience. They have very long tails and can grow to 5-7 inches long. Most of their scales are smooth and shiny with a gray and brown colored body. They have tan stripes going perpendicular along its spine. Madrean Alligator Lizards occur in conifer forests, riparian corridors and desert scrub. They emerge from brumation in April and remains active through November. They can glide along branches similar to that of a snake, but also use their tiny forelimbs for extra movement. Predators of the Alligator Lizard are Ring-necked snakes and Striped Whipsnakes. If a snake bites it, the Alligator Lizard will then bite its own tail, making it hard for the snake to swallow and hopefully avoiding certain death!

 

Mediterranean House Gecko on the move

NPS Ron Sams

Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)

These Geckos are a non-native species that have adapted quite well to Arizona's desert climate. Hence the name, they are indigenous to the Mediterranean ragion but have slowly begun taking over parts of the U.S. after being brought over on mercantile ships. Due to their ability to breed rapidly and strong resistance to pesticides, the Mediterranean gecko has been able to establish steady populations all along the Southern United States. They are tiny with pink and tan coloration and large black eyes. They are most active at night, and can be seen hanging out on the outside walls of your house after dark. They like to cling to walls near porch lights so they can eaily eat the insects that are attracted to the light.