Southwestern Fence Lizard

Sceloporus cowlesi

Reptiles & AmphibiansIn the app

Sceloporus cowlesi is a small lizard (3 inches in snout-to-vent length) with a brown-gray or golden-brown color and ridged overlapping scales. The back of the lizard has…

How to identify

Sceloporus cowlesi is a small lizard (3 inches in snout-to-vent length) with a brown-gray or golden-brown color and ridged overlapping scales. The back of the lizard has two light-colored stripes and the mid-dorsum has a wide gray stripe. Some individuals display dark-colored blotches between the stripes. The males have a pair of large blue patches on the belly and the throat has blue blotches on the underside. The belly patches are indistinct or nonexistent in females. Gravid females can be often spotted to have a tint of yellow or orange on the back.

Range

This species of lizard is endemic to North America; the USA and Mexico. In the USA they can be found in New Mexico and the southeastern regions of Arizona. In Mexico, their range includes Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Nuevo León, and Coahuila.

Habitat

They thrive in semi-desert grasslands, evergreen woodlands, desert scrubs, and conifer forests. The lizards can be found in low valleys, grassy plains, and foothills. They forage on the ground and bask on fence posts, rocks, trees, and woodpiles. Breeding starts in spring through to the beginning of summer. The lizards feed on insects including termites, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, larvae, and wasps and other invertebrates.

Similar species

The common sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus) is similar in size and has a brown-gray to orange-brown coloration. It has ridged scales and a similar wide gray mid-dorsal stripe. What distinguishes it from Sceloporus cowlesi is that the throat on this lizard has a uniform blue-gray or plain pattern. The common side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) is averagely 2.5 inches in length (snout to vent) and has an orange-tan to brown-gray coloration. Each of its lower sides is marked with black blotches just before the forelimb. This lizard may have a variety of markings including stripes, no patterns, and speckles. The side blotches are the most distinguishing feature. Slevin’s bunchgrass lizard (Sceloporus slevini) is approximately the same size and can be spotted in brown-gray, tan, brown-yellow colors. It also has a gray mid-dorsal stripe. Some specimens have bold patterns and crescent-shaped patches on the body.