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Small-scaled Lizard - Urosaurus microscutatus
Roñito de Matorral Cola-negra
(Van Denburgh, 1894)(= Baja California Brush Lizard or Black-tailed Brush Lizard - Urosaurus nigricaudus (Cope, 1864))
| Species Description & More Pictures |
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| Adult male, Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California | ||
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| Adult male, Rancho Verde, Baja California Sur | Adult, east of La Paz, Baja California Sur © Jackson Shedd |
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| Adult male, Isla San Marcos, Baja California Sur © Stuart Young | ||
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| Adult male, Valle de la Trinidad, Baja California © Stuart Young | ||
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| Gravid female, Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California © Stuart Young | Adult male, Isla San José, Baja California Sur © NozoMojo.com | |
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| Adult male, Isla San José, Baja California Sur © NozoMojo.com | Adult female, Isla San José, Baja California Sur © NozoMojo.com | Adult, Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur © NozoMojo.com |
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| Adult, Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur © NozoMojo.com | According to Lee Grismer (2002) regarding U. nigricaudus: "...adult males from the adjacent islands of Cayo, San Jose, and San Francisco have extensive orange coloration on the flanks." | |
| Habitat | ||
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| Habitat, Rancho Verde, Baja California Sur |
Habitat, near Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California |
Habitat, east of La Paz, Baja California Sur © Jackson Shedd |
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| Habitat, Baja California Sur © William Flaxington |
Habitat, Isla San José, Baja California Sur. © NozoMojo.com | Habitat, Isla San José, Baja California Sur. © NozoMojo.com |
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| Habitat, Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur. © NozoMojo.com | Habitat, Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur. © NozoMojo.com | Habitat, Isla San José, Baja California Sur. © NozoMojo.com |
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| Habitat, Isla San Marcos, Baja California Sur © Stuart Young | Habitat, Valle de la Trinidad, Baja California © Stuart Young | |
| Short Videos of this Species | ||
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| Some good looks at a camera-tolerant female brush lizard before she bolts, with some impressive tail wagging. | A female brush lizard does a few push-up displays and some tail wagging. | This video shows how to noose a lizard. Notice the lizard's defensive push-up behavior towards the noose. After a missed attempt, Stuart finally gets the noose around the lizard's neck and pulls him off the rock, being careful not to injure him. It's a colorful male Baja California Brush Lizard. After we admire him, he is put back on his boulder. |
| References: 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. Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018. Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. The Reptile Database San Diego Natural History Museum |
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Baja California Reptiles & Amphibians
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