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| Warmer weather increases the activity of lizards |
As temperatures rise and the days grow longer, it’s quite common to see different types of lizards basking in the sun, darting across driveways and sidewalks, and climbing tree trunks and other vegetation. Three common species observed this time of year include the Green or Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis), Plateau or Texas Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis gularis), and Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus).
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| Green Anole - green form |
Ranging from bright green to dark brown, the Green Anole possesses the ability to change color due to temperature and light. A small lizard, it has a pale colored underbelly, long claws, and a thin tail. The males have what is called a ‘dewlap’, a bright pink flap of skin that can be extended and retracted for purposes of intimidating rivals and attracting females during the mating season. These anoles are arboreal, spending most of their time in trees, shrubs, and vines, feeding on insects and spiders. While they have a small territory, the males will aggressively defend it, starting with extending their dewlap, bobbing their head, performing pushups, and ultimately ending in a chase or a wrestling match. All this posturing, patrolling, and jumping from one branch to another can make the males much easier targets for predators, however, and they tend to have higher mortality rates than the much more discreet females. If it is late spring and the right to mate is at stake, the winner will once again employ headbobbing and dewlap extension to entice the female, who will lay a single, softshell egg among the leaf litter.
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| Green Anole - brown form |
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| A male Green Anole extending his pink dewlap |
A medium to large striped and spotted lizard, the Texas Spotted Whiptail is endemic to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. It grows from 6.5 to 11 inches long, typically tan brown to green-brown in color, with a pattern of seven distinct grey or white stripes that run the length of the body and stop at the tail. Light colored spots are present along the sides, the underside is uniformly light in color, and the tail is often close to three times the body length. This whiptail is highly active during the day, hunting for insects in a wide variety of habitats, and like other whiptails, is capable of tail autonomy or the ability to shed its tail to escape predation. Breeding occurs in the spring, with the female laying a clutch of 1 to 5 eggs in a separate chamber of their underground burrow, typically in moist soil, by early summer.
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| Texas Spotted Whiptail |
Primarily arboreal but preferring basking surfaces such as fence posts and rock walls, the Texas Spiny Lizard is quite common in all but the eastern and western thirds of Texas. A robust spiny lizard up to 11 inches long, it is grayish to olive brown with up to nine dark wavy bars spaced along its back, which gives it a very scaly appearance. Males have a narrow bright blue patch on each side of the belly, and while the females lack this coloration, they are slightly larger and paler than the males. An ambush predator, they feed on a variety of insects found on the ground in open areas or up in trees in wooded areas. Breeding occurs in the spring and summer, and mature females may lay several egg clutches per year.
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| Texas Spiny Lizard |
As temperatures cool when evening approaches, most lizards will retreat into sheltered refuges until warming begins the next morning. As temperatures rise throughout the day, they will increase their activity levels and become leaping lizards once again!
