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Spiny Desert Lizards and Their Allies (Phrynosomatidae) 29 images Created 26 Aug 2014

Images of wildlife across the North American continent photographed by Rich Leighton of the lizard family Phrynosomatidae, which represents side-blotched lizards, fence lizards and desert spiny lizards.
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  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed on Utah's Antelope Island, an island near Salt Lake City which lies near the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world). This beautiful member of the Phrynosomatid lizard family has evolved white scales to enable it to blend in with the white gypsum sands. I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't moved.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • This charasmatic little lizard was found sunning on an old plank in Suwannee County, Florida. These lizards are shockingly fast!
    Eastern Fence Lizard
  • A very gravid eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) clings to a small tree in Southern Georgia. She was so heavy with eggs that she was nearly unable to speed away when I took this shot.
    Gravid Eastern Fence Lizard
  • Close-up of the male desert spiny lizard. While the females tend to be a more or less sandy color, the males have very dark markings on the neck, with turquoise to blue under the jaw and along the belly - often with orange to yellow markings on the side.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • One of the more common lizards of the West Coast of North America, this one was found in its northernmost part of its range in Central Washington, by the bank of the Tieton River on a chilly late spring morning.
    Western Fence Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed on Utah's Antelope Island, an island near Salt Lake City which lies near the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This distant relative to the iguana is very common all over Florida, most commonly found in dry pine or palmetto scrubs, but can be found in any non- damp environment.
    Eastern Fence Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The western side-blotched lizard is a subspecies of the common side-blotched lizard found over most the the American Southwest. This one photographed in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert was the most numerous of lizard species I'd found.
    Western Side-blotched Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • An adult male desert spiny lizard basks in the spring afternoon sun in the desert sand in rural San Bernardino County. This individual had very vivid blues and oranges in the sunlight.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • This spiny desert lizard (probably a  juvenile male)  pauses in its hunt for insects, spiders and the occasional centipede under the fallen palm fronds in the Coachella Valley Oasis.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • An adult female desert spiny lizard watches warily from mear the base of a desert fan palm in rural San Bernardino County in Southern California.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • The rose-bellied lizard (also known as the rosebelly lizard) is a handsome little member of the spiny lizard family and is native to Central and North America with a range from Costa Rica to Southern Texas. This one was found near the bank of the Rio Grande in Southern Hidalgo County, Texas.
    Rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus vari..lis)
  • The rose-bellied lizard (also known as the rosebelly lizard) is a handsome little member of the spiny lizard family and is native to Central and North America with a range from Costa Rica to Southern Texas. This one was found near the bank of the Rio Grande in Southern Hidalgo County, Texas.
    Rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus vari..lis)
  • The rose-bellied lizard (also known as the rosebelly lizard) is a handsome little member of the spiny lizard family and is native to Central and North America with a range from Costa Rica to Southern Texas. This one was found near the edge of a pond in just south of Alamo, Texas.
    Rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus vari..lis)