Elegant Earless Lizard

Holbrookia elegans

Reptiles & AmphibiansIn the app

A mostly grey-brown lizard with brown and white markings on granulated scales. It reaches about 3 inches in snout to vent length, has long legs, and lacks external ear op…

How to identify

A mostly grey-brown lizard with brown and white markings on granulated scales. It reaches about 3 inches in snout to vent length, has long legs, and lacks external ear openings. Its head is small with a sharp, wedge-shaped snout. The markings down its back look a bit like upside down triangles or "W"s with jagged edges. They are arranged in 4-6 rows, with the 2 center rows being larger and darker. The markings are brown in the center with thin white borders. Between these markings, the scales are light brown with white speckles. There is a light grey line down the spine between these markings. The ventrum is mostly white.

Range

Range extends south from extreme southeastern Arizona along the west coast of mainland Mexico.

Habitat

This lizard prefers open, sunlit terrain with sparse vegetation and gravely substrate. They occur in grasslands, open woodlands, and desert scrublands.

Variations

Males have 2 black bars on each side of the body, extending onto the ventrum. These bars are bordered by bright blue shading. They also have yellow tinting on the lower sides of their body, and less distinct markings on their back. They may have an orange patch on the throat. Breeding females have orange to pink tint on the front half of their body, and yellow tint on the lower half. They also lack the black side bars, but may have light grey ones.

Similar species

Easy to confuse with the western earless lizard (*Holbrookia maculata*). Also similar to the Plateau Earless Lizard (*Holbrookia lacerata*), greater earless lizard (*Cophosaurus texanus*), and ornate tree lizard (*Urosaurus ornatus*).