Sierra Night Lizard

Xantusia sierrae

Reptiles & AmphibiansIn the app

They have a maximum snout vent length of 51 mm. The adult male has a snout vent length of 46 mm, a tail length of 63 mm and a head length of 10.5 mm. They are small, thin…

How to identify

They have a maximum snout vent length of 51 mm. The adult male has a snout vent length of 46 mm, a tail length of 63 mm and a head length of 10.5 mm. They are small, thin, have a soft skin and granular scales on most of its body. There’s also the presence of a broad post orbital stripe and a transverse row of gular fold. They have dorsal head scales divided into internasal, frontonasal, prefrontal, frontal, front parietal, parietal and occipital. The ventral are in 12 longitudinal rows and 32 transverse rows. The head is covered with plates. Their eyes are lidless with vertical pupils. Their dorsal scales occur in 40-44 rows at mid body. The dorsal surface of the head is a shade of brown but the scales around the eyes are darker. The color of the dorsal surface varies from olive to brown or grey with spots of light brown or black which go on to form a net like pattern. Their underside is white and made of large square scales.

Range

They are found in California along the base of the Sierra Nevada on the eastern side of the San Joaquin valley. They are also found along the granite station of the green horn mountains.

Habitat

They are found in rocky outcrops around granite station, underneath granite caps and flakes. They spend most of their time underground. Their tail easily breaks off and it’s used to distract predators long enough for the lizard to run. They feed on small invertebrates like ants, spiders, caterpillars, termite, crickets and beetles etc. They breed in late spring. Their young are born live about 1-3 per brood in august to September.

Similar species

Wiggins Night Lizard (xantusia wigginsi) is a small thin lizard. It has a snout vent length of about 1.7inches (4.32 cm). It has scales all over its body with a large plate on its head. The color on its dorsal surface varies from grayish brown to rusty brown. There’s also the presence of dark spots on its dorsal surface which fuses together to form thin lines. The Arizona Night Lizard (xantusia arizona) is 10 cm in length. It has body scales and there’s the presence of small dark spots on its dorsal side. It has large round eyes with vertical pupils too. The Bezyis Night Lizard (xantusia bezyi) has a length of 60 cm. The color of its dorsal surface varies from yellow to light brown olive background with presence of dark patches. It has various sizes and shapes of scales distributed round its body. The Bolson Night Lizard (xantusia bolsonae) has a length of approximately 6 cm. Their body is covered by scales with a leopard skin coloration on it dorsal surface. The Durango Night Lizard (xantusia extorris) has a snout vent length of about 4 cm. It’s a small thin lizard with scale distribution on most of its body.