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Photo by Unknown Photographer
Photo Courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Common Sagebrush Lizard
Sceloporus graciosus
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): S5
External links
General information
The common sagebrush lizard, Sceloporus graciosus, is a small to medium size (5" to 6") lizard that occurs throughout much of the western United States, and is common throughout most of Utah. As its name implies, the common sagebrush lizard is usually found in sagebrush habitat, but it also occurs in many other types of habitat, including pinyon-juniper areas and open forests. Common sagebrush lizards become inactive during the cold winter months, often using stone piles, shrubs, or rodent burrows for cover.
Reproduction occurs from mid-May to July, with one or two clutches of one to eight eggs being laid annually. Eggs hatch approximately two months after they are laid.
Common sagebrush lizards are gray, greenish-gray, or brown above, with blue belly patches. They eat invertebrates, primarily insects and spiders.
Phenology
Sagebrush lizards are inactive in cold winter weather; duration of the inactive period varies with local climate. In much of the range, these lizards are active mainly from March-April through September-October. In southern Utah, activity occurs mainly from early April to mid-September (Tinkle et al. 1993).
Species range
This lizard ranges from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota south to northern Baja California, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico, and eastward into western Nebraska (Stebbins 2003). Elevational range extends from around 500 feet to about 10,500 feet (150-3,200 meters) (Stebbins 2003). The disjunct populations in southern California and the Sierra San Pedro Martir in Baja California were treated as a distinct species by Grismer (2002).
Habitat
Habitats include sagebrush and other types of shrublands (e.g., manzanita and ceanothus brushland), also pinyon-juniper woodland and openly wooded areas of ponderosa pine or Douglas-fir; occupied areas have with open ground and some low bushes (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Hammerson 1999, Stebbins 2003). This is a ground dweller that regularly perches on rocks, logs, or snags; it uses rodent burrows, shrubs, logs, etc., for cover.
Food habits
Eats insects (e.g., beetles, flies, ants, caterpillars, etc.) spiders, ticks, mites, and aphids.
Ecology
In southern Utah and west-central California, annual survival rate averaged roughly 50-60% in adults, less than 30% in juveniles and eggs (Tinkle et al. 1993). The southern Utah population appeared to be substantially resource limited. Home range size averaged about 400-600 sq m in Utah. M'Closkey et al. (1997) found that areas experimentally depopulated of this species were quickly recolonized from surrounding areas. Predators include: striped whipsnakes, night snakes, and a variety of predatory birds.
Reproductive characteristics
Eggs are laid in June-July in Colorado, May-July in west-central California. In southern Utah, reproduction occurred between mid-May and and early July (Tinkle et al. 1993). Clutch size is 1-8; throughout the range, clutch size averages usually between 3 and 5 (Tinkle et al. 1993). Eggs hatch in 45-75 days (beginning in early to mid-August in Colorado and Utah, mid- to late August in west-central California). In Colorado and Utah, most adult females produce 2 clutches annually. Individuals become sexually mature in first (south) or second (north) year; at 10-11 months in west-central California. In southern Utah, most females produce their first clutch at an age of about 22-24 months (some matured in about one year under uncommon optimal conditions).
Threats or limiting factors
No major threats have been identified. Locally, some populations are negatively affected by various kinds of habitat degradation.
References
- Biotics Database. 2005. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, NatureServe, and the network of Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation Data Centers.
- Stebbins, R. C. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 336 pp.
