Description: A medium-sized (up to 4.3 inches from snout to vent), slim, orange-brown to gray-brown lizard with a long, thin tail, and a slim, pointed snout. The body is marked with dark reticulations or marbling, light spots, and faint, light stripes. The reticulations are dark gray or black on the anterior portion of the sides. The tail is brown. Males have dark gray or black coloration on the chest and throat. Juveniles have a plain pale underside, distinct stripes, spots on the body and limbs, and a bright blue tail. As the animal ages the tail becomes brown, the stripes fade, and the spots often merge together into reticulations. The scales on the body are small and granular. The scales on the tail are large, keeled, and rectangular. The belly scales are large, smooth, and rectangular and the scales on top of the head are large, smooth, and plate-like.
Habitat: This lizard occupies a wide variety of terrain types including sandy flatlands, plateaus, rocky bajadas, drainages, canyons, and steep mountain slopes. It is usually found in relatively open and sunny areas.
Diet: It actively forages by rooting around in organic matter under bushes and by digging in the soil around the bases of rocks, logs, and other surface debris. It feeds on termites, insect larvae, beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, and other insects.
Reproduction: mates in in spring and lays one or two clutches of eggs in late spring or summer. Clutch size ranges from 1 to 10 eggs.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large and relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. No major threats are known. Subspecies marmoratus is considered to be a distinct species by some authorities; as such, it also is Least Concern.
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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.