Lizards

In the United States, lizards are typically small reptiles (under 12" total length) with distinct legs, moveable eyelids, and a fragile, breakable tail which can be shed to avoid predation.  Their bodies are covered with small scales that may be smooth or spiny.  They are typically fairly active, and most species are entirely diurnal (that they move about during the day) - consequently, many species require warm temperatures.  Most species feed on insects, and some larger species feed on smaller lizards.  Some species (Iguanas) feed on vegetation.  Most species of lizard lay eggs, but a few are live bearers.

Lizards are very closely related to snakes - in fact, some species of lizards are more closely related to snakes than they are to other lizards.  Lizard species such as Geckos, Skinks, Whiptails, and Alligator Lizards share a more recent common ancestor with snakes than they do with lizards such as Anoles, Collared Lizards, and Spiny Lizards.  Evidence of this relationship includes similarities in the anatomy of their tongues and sense of smell - both snakes and gecko-type lizards use their tongues to "taste" the air (its really a bit more complicated than that) and hunt using their sense of small while iguana-type lizards have practically no sense of small and hunt using their sight.

There are 18 species of lizard covered in this guide.  Of these, one is probable for the area but has not been recorded, while a second is questionable.  The species in the area that we have verified for the area are marked with an asterisk (*).

*Texas Banded Gecko, Coleonyx brevis

*Mediterranean House Gecko, Hemidactylus tursicus

*Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis

*Texas Earless Lizard, Cophosaurus texanus

Spot-tailed Earless Lizard, Holbrookia lacerata (probable)

*Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum

*Texas Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus olivaceus

*Crevice Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus poinsetti

Southern Prairie Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus

*Texas Rose-bellied Lizard, Sceloporus variabilis

*Tree Lizard, Urosaurus ornatus

*Great Plains Skink, Eumeces obsoletus

*Short-lined Skink, Eumeces tetragrammus

*Ground Skink, Scincella lateralis

*Texas Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidophorus gularis

Six-lined Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus (?)

*Texas Alligator Lizard, Gerrhonotus infernalis