With the exception of the legless lizards, lizards often get generically described as the four legged members of the Order Squamatareptile, which includes both snakes and lizards.
Lizard trivia often begins by defining the group’s extremes. The Komodo dragon starts that particular conversation with the note that its up to ten foot frame makes it the world’s largest lizard. In historical content, ten feet is a bit small compared to some fossils found in Queensland, Australia, which show an extinct species, Megalania prisca, that measured some twenty feet long and possibly weighed in the one thousand pound range. North American’s largest lizards, Gila Lizards, grow up to two feet in length and weigh in over the five pound mark.
The types of lizards in the United States currently breaks down into fourteen families consisting of a total of one hundred and twenty two different species.
While the numbers may sound a bit intimidating for the average person who wants to learn a little bit about the lizards in the neighborhood or nearby hiking spots, a closer look at the numbers show that about two-thirds of all the lizard species belong to three very common families, the spiny lizards, whiptails and skinks.
Other families such as the Gila Monsters pictured at the top of the page have only one member. It’s the only poisonous lizard found in the United States and is a resident of the Southwest Desert.
With the exception of Alaska, lizards inhabit a variety of areas across the United States. Their affinity for warm climates makes the Southwest prime lizard territory. Florida also hosts a large number of lizard species, many of them are non-native species.
Dietary habits vary from family to family. Most iguanas, for example, are herbivores. They consume only plant life. Spiny lizards, omnivores, consume a variety of insect and plant life.
Spiny Lizards
Spiny lizards (family Phrynosomatidae), the largest native North American lizard family, consists of some forty five species divided into nine genera.
The Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana), inhabits arid regions of western North America. The side blotch refers to the black spot behind the front leg of the lizard. The Uta genus was named for Utah, the state where they were first discovered.
The Spiny Lizard family breaks down into nine genera and consists of some of the most familiar lizards people see on a daily basis during the season.
For example, the top picture shows an Eastern Fence Lizard. Both the Eastern and Western Fence Lizards are very common across the United States. They are known as blue bellies because the males have blue patches on the sides of their bellies.
Many of the spiny lizards have common names that include spiny lizard. The picture shows a Crevice Spiny Lizard, a native of the Chihuahuan desert region. Usually the collar on the neck is a good field identification clue.
Desert Spiny Lizards pick up where the Crevice Spiny Lizard range ends. They inhabit areas of the Sonora Desert and north to the high deserts that spill over into Utah and Colorado.
A quick glance down the page shows that all the species share similar physical characteristics such as the pointed scales and mostly dull colors. It helps them blend into the background of their environment The pictures do not do much to speak to size. Most of the species are of medium length. With their tails they rarely reach over ten inches in length.
Earless Lizards
Can lizards hear? Do lizards have ears?
Those are common lizard questions. The quick answers are yes and most.
Two spiny lizard genera, greater and lesser earless lizards, do have external ear openings, however they can still pick up a few sounds.
The first picture shows a Greater Earless Lizard. There is only one species and it lives in the Southwest. They can grow up to seven inches in length.
Four species of Lesser Earless Lizards are found in the Southwest and Midwest. The picture shows an Elegant Earless Lizard.
Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma) are popular in the Southwest where they also go by the name Horn Toads. They are lizards and not toads.
There are actually nine different Horned Lizard species. They are very regionally oriented. Anywhere in the Southwest a herper travels brings another opportunity to add to their lizard life list.
Rather than having a slender body like other lizards they have an oval to round body. Look for them basking in the desert sun in the early morning hours. They forage for ants and other insects.
Five species of Fringe-toed Lizards (Uma) are documented in the Southwest. The common name comes from the fact that they have scales extending along the sides of their back toes. It helps them navigate the desert sands.
All the species have some form of small spots across the body.
From a picture perspective, it’s practically impossible to differentiate the Tree & Brush Lizards from most of the other spiny lizard species.
Like the Fence Lizards, male Tree Lizards have blue patches on the sides of their bellies.
They are one of the most common lizards in Arizona. The Fence Lizards tend to have white spots on their back and most pictures of the Tree Lizards show an absence of the white spots.
One species of Zebratail Lizards (Callisaurus) can be found in the Southwest. A look at the picture shows the black and white stripes on the tail, explaining the name. They are easily identified.
Note: Only one species of Banded Rock Lizards (Petrosaurus) is currently documented in the United States. Its range is limited.
Skinks
While skinks rank as the world’s largest lizard family, the fifteen native skink species constitute a small portion of North American lizards. New England’s only native lizard, the Five-lined Skink or Blue-tailed Skink, a wide spread woodland species, ranges from Southern Canada to Central Florida.
Juveniles, like the specimen in the picture, have dark bodies with five light stripes, along with the blue tail.
Mature males also lose their stripes and develop a red head.
The fifteen native skink species constitute a small portion of North American lizards. Thirteen of the one hundred and twenty two lizard species, or about twelve per cent, belong to Skinks family (Scincidae). There are many subspecies with the Southeastern Mole Skinks having five.
The common name mole refers to their behavior of burying underground.
Coal Skinks get their name from the place where they were first discovered, the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania. Actually, they can be found up and down the Appalachian Mountains, including Georgia. There’s also a different subspecies with a Midwest range that extends to Texas.
Typically they get characterized as medium sized lizards with smooth skin. The picture at the top of the page shows a Broad-headed Skink. With the exception of New England, it’s common in the Midwest and East.
Identifying them can be fairly easy. In the east, they are cited as the largest lizards, growing over a foot in length. They live in trees, so seeing a large, smooth skinned lizard in the tree is often a good identification starting point.
Ground Skinks, mostly they inhabit wooded areas in the Eastern United States, right about south of the Mason Dixon line. (There might be some northern spillover.)
They spend their time on the ground among the leaf litter in search of insects. Finding one might be as easy as kicking over the leaf litter (gently) during the spring season, when they are emerging from hibernation.
Western Skinks, like many skinks tend to live near water areas near forests and grasslands. There is no stripe down the middle of the back. The tail turns blue and can be detached if the skink feels threatened.
Southeastern Fives-lined Skinks look very similar to the common five lined skinks. By definition, there will be five lines along the body, including on down the middle of the body. The tail will be blue.
They can grow up to eight inches in length and live in wooded areas.
Last, but certainly not least, The Great Plains Skink receives the title of the largest skink in the United States. They can measure in at about fourteen inches in length, including the tail.
They live in underground burrows and come out during the day to forage for food. The picture shows a spotted skink, unlike any others on this page. Once discovered, they are easy to identify.
Anoles (genus Anolis)
Hundreds of Anole species (members of the Anolis genus) inhabit tropical areas of the Caribbean, Central and South America. The Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis), the only native North American species, inhabits back yards and forests across the Southeast. The slim, lime green body makes it a relatively easy native lizard to identify.
Finding one, or a pair, in the backyard should be considered a sign of good fortune. They are considered beneficial lizards, helping keep the yard clean by hunting bugs during their usual day time outings.
Keeping the yard pesticide free helps promote an anole friendly yard.
Glass Lizards and Alligator Lizards
The existence of two separate families of legless lizards speaks to the importance of physical attributes when taxonomic decisions get made. So it is with the family Anguidae that consists of both Alligator Lizards and Glass Lizards.
They share some common physical features in skull and bone development, hence they are placed in the same category.
The United States hosts five alligator lizard species and four glass lizard species. The picture shows an Eastern Glass Lizard.
Legless lizards (Anniellidae), on the other hand, belong to a separate family.
How are legless lizards different than snakes? There are physical and behavioral differences apart from the similarity of lacking legs. Unlike snakes, legless lizards have external ear openings and movable eyelids. They also typically spend their entire lives underground.
They are California endemic species and recent research documented the existence of the newer species.
Collared and Leopard Lizards
Depending on the age of the source, Collard and Leopard Lizards are classified as a subfamily of Iguanas or as their own family, Crotaphytidae.
All five collard lizard species and three leopard lizard species inhabit the desert Southwest region. They can grow to be almost a foot in length. As the picture shows, the black rings around the neck form what looks to be a collar.
Here’s a Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard. It’s another California endemic species.
Iguanas
Only two Iguanas (Iguanidaeclick) species, the Desert Iguana and the Common Chuckwalla are native to the United States.
That would be the beginning and end of the story if not for the popularity of Iguanas as pets. In Florida for example, many of the pet Green iguanas have been released into the wild and for the past couple of years they have been creating a bit of a havoc in South Florida where they have become established.
They are a tropical speices native to the Caribbean, Central and South America.
At issue is the fact that they can grow up to five feet in length. While they are not dangerous, they are herbivores that can consume large quantities of common landscape plants and fruit (except for citrus).
The picture shows an orange colored male iguana. They take a few different forms.
The top picture shows a Desert Iguana, one of the native species of the Southwest.
Geckos
What’s not to like about Gecko’s? Cute reptiles with sticky feet that allow them to walk on walls and ceilings in their territory.
The United States has three native Gecko families that consists of six species.
- Eyelid Geckos (Eublepharidae)
- Sphaerodactyl Geckos (Sphaerodactylidae)
- Leaf-toed Geckos (Phyllodactylidae)
The picture shows a Desert Banded Gecko, a subspecies of the Western Gecko. It belongs to the Eyelid Gecko family.
Florida documents fifteen different species, all but one is non-native, the Reef Gecko.
Night Lizards (Xantusiidae), not pictured are the final lizard family in the United States. They are fairly small flat lizards. They received the nickname night lizards because people thought they were nocturnal. Turns out they do have a day life. It’s just the fact that their small size means no one noticed them.
Whiptail Lizards
21 of the 122 lizard species, or about seventeen per cent, belong to the Whiptails, Racerunners & Ameivas family (Teiidae).
They are mostly a Southwest species. About one dozen species, for example, have been documented in Arizona. Take a hike anywhere in the state and at least a couple of species will be in camera range.
The pictures show slight differences in a handful of the native species. For example, some species have stripes. Some species have spots. Other species have a combination of stripes and spots. Those physical features along with geography are usually sufficient for identification purposes.
The Texas Spotted Whiptail in the picture is the most wide ranging of the species. It calls almost of all Texas along with some parts of Northern Mexico home. From a distance the top of the lizard looks green and the tail section looks red. A closer look reveals the spotted legs with the traditional striped body.
Checkered Whiptails are fairly common from Arizona through Oklahoma. The checkered body contrasts with the stripes and spots of the spotted whiptails, making for easier identification.
Cihuanhuan Spotted Whiptail lizards have six stripes on the body with spots between and on the stripes. The name Chiuanhuan is indicative of their residence in the Chiuanhuan Desert region of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.
Gila Spotted Whiptail lizards also have stripes and spots on the body. Geography is the best field identification clue. They have a narrow range in the woodlands across central Arizona, with a spillover into the Gila Wilderness areas of New Mexico.
Sonoran Spotted Whiptail lizards are heavily spotted and striped. They reside in the Sonora Desert region of Southeast Arizona.
Five different subspecies of Tiger Whiptails (Aspidoscelis tigris) are documented. They are one of the most widespread of all the whiptail species.
Check for them at the Grand Canyon