Stats

Lifespan

4-6 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Desert

Range

North America

Movement

Climbing

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A small, flattened lizard of the American Southwest that spends most of its life clinging to tree bark, fence posts, and rock crevices, relying on cryptic gray-brown camouflage to vanish against its perch. Males flash bright blue-and-orange throat and belly patches in territorial push-up displays that are otherwise hidden when at rest.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   hatchling

   A miniature reptile emerges from its egg already independent.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A juvenile sheds and grows, often duller-colored than adults.
3. 3.
   adult

   Fully grown with adult size and coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Phrynosomatidae

Genus

Urosaurus

Species

Urosaurus ornatus