Description: Ground color of adults pale, slightly darker than light line on third scale row, contrasting sharply with longitudinal dark lines; dark lines on first and second scale rows unreduced throughout life; juvenile pattern darker, with less well- defined lines; patternless morph rare.

Habitat: Northern populations inhabit prairie grassland and sandhills; southern populations occur in creosote bush desert, streamside thickets, pinyon-juniper and pine-oak woodland, fir forests, semidesert and oak shrublands, vacant lots, dumps; soil may be rocky, sandy, or loamy. This is a secretive lizard that is usually found under ground cover.

Range: The geographic range of P. m. multivirgatus is limited in the north by southern South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming and extends in the south to the Arkansas River in Colorado. P. m. multivirgatus prefers sandy soil and occurs in habitat below 5,495 feet.

Found in these States: AZ | CO | WY

Diet: Eats mainly insects.

Reproduction: Oviparous. Lays 2 to 7 eggs, May to June; eggs attended by female, hatch in July or August. Eggs have been found under rocks.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the fairly large and probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. No major threats are known. Reassessment may be warranted if further taxonomic study reveals that this is a multi-species complex.

Taxonomy: