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Baja California Night Lizard Juvenile

Home »» Lizards »» Xantusiidae (Night Lizards) »» Baja California Night Lizard (Xantusia wigginsi)


Baja California Night Lizard (Xantusia wigginsi)Secure





Description: Adults grow up to 1.7 inches long from snout to vent. A small thin lizard with soft skin with fine granular scales on most of the body, a head covered with large plates, lidless eyes with vertical pupils, a gular fold, and a detachable tail. Color is grayish brown to rusty brown with black spots, which sometimes fuse together to form thin lines. The dark spots on the tail are larger. Sometimes a lizard will be completely unspotted. A narrow beige stripe, edged in black, usually extends from the eye to the shoulder and may extend along the sides of the entire body. The underside is whitish-yellow and made up of large square scales. Males have enlarged femoral pores.


Habitat: Habitat in California is rocky Desert scrub with abundant yucca.


Range: In California, found at Scissors Crossing in San Diego County, and at a location east of Jacumba near the border with Baja California. Found south of California through the Baja California peninsula to the Vizcaino region of Baja California del Sur.


Found in these States: CA


Diet: Eats small invertebrates inhabiting the decaying vegetation in which it lives including ants, termites, beetles, caterpillars, crickets, and spiders.


Reproduction: Live-bearing. Usually gives birth to two young during the fall.


Status: Not enough data at this time.


Taxonomy: In 2007, nuclear DNA studies were used to provide support for the recognition of X. wigginsi as a full species.

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Lizards
           »» Family: Xantusiidae - Night Lizards
             »» Genus: Xantusia
               »» Species: Xantusia wigginsi - Baja California Night Lizard
                 »» Subspecies: None

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "ANIMAL", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada     Lizards of the World: A Guide to Every Family     Texas Lizards: A Field Guide     National Geographic Readers: Lizards



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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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