Description: 2 to 3 inches long from snout to vent. A small, slender lizard with movable eyelids and vertical pupils. The head is triangular in shape and wider than the neck, and is usually spotted. The skin is soft with fine granular scales (without tubercles). Toes are long and slender. Tail is constricted at the base. Color pattern is variable, with a pale yellow, pink, or light gray background, and tan or brown bands on the body and tail. These bands may be broken into blotches, especially on older adults. In some areas adults do not have broken bands, only spots. The width of the dark bands is equal to or less than the width of the light areas. Males have spurs on each side of the base of the tail. Juveniles tend to have more well defined unbroken bands than adults and few or no spots inbetween the bands. The bands fade and break up with age. The head is not as spotted as that of an adult. Juvenile C. v. variegatus have the general appearance of adult and juvenile C. v. abbotti, and this sometimes causes confusion with their identification.
Habitat: Arid areas including creosote flats, sagebrush desert, pinon-juniper woods, chaparral. Prefers rocky areas, but may occur in rockless ares such as sand dunes.
Range: In California the subspecies Coleonyx variegatus variegatus is found in the deserts - on the eastern edge of the Peninsular ranges from the Baja California border east to the Colorado River, north on the northern side of the Transverse ranges and along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bishop area. It ranges inland through the Kern River Canyon to Granite Station in the western Sierra foothills and eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley. Beyond California this subspecies ranges into the southern tip of Nevada, across the western half of Arizona, into northeastern Baja California and mainland Mexico.
Reproduction: Breeding occurs during April and May. Females lay 1 or two eggs from May to September, which hatch in 45 days.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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