California Reptiles & Amphibians

Sceloporus orcutti - Granite Spiny Lizard

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Red

Adult female, Riverside County

Adult male, San Diego County

Adult female, Riverside County

Adult male territorial display,
San Diego County

Adult female, San Diego County

Adult male, Riverside County
© Patrick Briggs

Adult Male, San Diego County © Jason Jones

Juvenile Riverside County
© Patrick Briggs

Male dorsal view
© Patrick Briggs

Male ventral view
© Patrick Briggs

Adult male, female, and juvenile Riverside County © Patrick Briggs

Habitat, San Diego County

Habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, Imperial County

Habitat, San Diego County desert

Habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, coastal San Diego County

Description

Size

3 1/4 - 4 5/8 inches long from snout to vent (8.2 - 11.7 cm). (Stebbins 2003) Up to nearly 11 inches in total length.

Appearance

A large, dark, lizard with large pointed keeled scales, a triangular dark wedge on the sides of the neck, and dark bands across the body. Often these crossbands are not visible when a lizard is in its dark phase and the body color matches the bands. Scales are more stronly keeled on the tail, giving it a more prickly appearance.

Color is a dark rusty coppery brown to nearly black.

Young lizards have a rusty head and conspicuous bands and neck markings.

Males have blue on the throat and belly, and yellow and blue markings on the back along with a wide purple stripe on the back. Males also have enlarged femoral pores and a swollen tail base.

Females have more distinct crossbands than males and no blue and purple coloring above or below.

Behavior & Natural History

Diurnal. Typically seen basking on large granite boulders. An excellent climber. Active from spring to fall, sheltering in cracks in rocks or under surface cover, and remaining inactive during winter.

This lizard can be very conspicous when basking on light granite boulders, but it is very wary and capable of running quickly away from danger, often to the other side of a large rock. Usually bites when captured.

Diet

Eats small invertebrates, small lizards, and occasionally fruits and flowers.

Reproduction

Mates in March and April. A clutch of 6 - 15 eggs is laid from May to July. Eggs hatch from July to October.

Range

Ranges from the northern side of San Gorgonio Pass south along the lower slopes of the Peninsular ranges into Baja California where it ranges almost to the cape. Found on the desert slopes of the mountains where there is sufficient plant cover, and on the coastal side inland to near the coast and north to the Santa Ana River.

Habitat

Inhabits areas with large boulders and granite cliffs with mixed vegetation, including chaparral, mesquite, pine and oak, and palms.
From sea level to near 7,000 ft. (2,100 m). (Lemm 2006)

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None.

Taxonomy
Family	Phrynosomatidae	Zebra-tailed, Earless, Fringe-toed, Spiny, Tree, Side-blotched, and Horned Lizards
Genus	Sceloporus	Spiny Lizards
Species	orcutti	Granite Spiny Lizard
Original Description
Sceloporus orcutti - Stejneger, 1893 - N. Amer. Fauna, No. 7, p. 181, pl. 1, figs. 4a-c from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Sceloporus - Greek -skelos leg and porus - pore or opening - refers to the femoral pores on hind legs orcutti - honors Orcutt, Charles R. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Bluebelly
Related or Similar California Lizards
S. magister uniformis - Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard S. occidentalis longipes - Great Basin Fence Lizard
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946. Grismer, L. Lee. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. The University of California Press, 2002. McPeak, Ron H. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. Sea Challengers, 2000. Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. This animal is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List