Southern Alligator Lizard
Elgaria multicarinata
Reptilia
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- 10-15 yrs
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Insectivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate chaparral
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Walking
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
The Southern Alligator Lizard is a slender, long-tailed lizard native to the western United States, named for its keeled, rectangular scales that closely resemble an alligator's hide. Its tail can be more than twice the length of its body, and it can voluntarily shed and regrow it as an escape from predators.
Life cycle
- 1.hatchlingA miniature lizard cuts itself free from its egg and starts hunting tiny insects within days.
- 2.juvenileA juvenile sheds repeatedly as it grows, often duller-colored than adults and quick to dart for cover.
- 3.adultFully grown with adult coloration and size.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Anguidae
- Genus
- Elgaria
- Species
- Elgaria multicarinata