Description: 1.5 to 2.25 inches long from snout to vent. A small slim climbing lizard with a long thin tail, usually seen on rocks and trees. There is a gular fold across the throat and a fold of skin on each side of the body. The scales on the back are small and granular, with two bands of enlarged scales down the middle of the back with a band of smaller scales between them. Color is brown, tan, gray, rusty, or nearly black with dark blotches or irregular narrow crossbars on the upper surfaces. The coloring usually matches the surrounding environment, and changes from a dark to a light phase. Males have a blue, green, orange, or yellow throat patch, blue or green patches on the sides of the belly which do not usually connect, and enlarged postanal pores. Females have a white belly and a white, orange or yellow throat.

Habitat: Tree lizards are found in desert habitats with or without trees, which include mesquite, tamarisk, oaks and cottonwoods, and are often seen on buildings and fence posts. They are especially attracted to the edges of rivers, streams and washes. This tree lizard subspecies is more often found on rocks than on trees due to the rugged and treeless mountainous terrain that makes up much of their range.

Range: In our region, Urosaurus o. symmetricus occurs in Arizona, California and southern Nevada along the Colorado River.

Found in these States: AZ | CA | NV

Diet: Eats small invertebrates including beetles, ants, flies, grasshoppers, and spiders. Typically sits on shrubs, trees, and rocks and waits for prey to approach.

Reproduction: Mating takes place in spring and summer and one or two clutches of eggs are laid in spring and summer. Clutch size ranges from 2 to 16 eggs.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large and stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. No major threats are known.

Taxonomy: