Chordates • Earth.com

Eastern fence lizard

(Sceloporus consobrinus)

galery

Description

The eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is a medium-sized species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae.The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the prairie lizard, fence swift, gray lizard, gravid lizard,northern fence lizard or pine lizard.It is also referred to colloquially as the horn-billed lizard. One of its most notable behaviors is that of its escape behavior when encountering fire ants. The eastern fence lizard can grow from 4.0 to 7.5 inches (10 to 19 cm) in total length (including tail).It is typically colored in shades of gray or brown, and has keeled scales, with a dark line running along the rear of the thigh. A female is usually gray and has a series of dark, wavy lines across her back. The belly is white with black flecks, with some pale blue on the throat and belly. The male is usually brown, and during the summer, has a more greenish-blue and black coloration on the sides of the belly and throat than the female. The young look like the females, but are darker and duller. The lizards mostly inhabit sparsely wooded areas with ample sunlight, such as pine barrens with sandy or loose soil. They can be found basking atop of both natural and artificial structures including coarse woody debris, tree stumps, rock piles, sandy hills, dead logs, and fence posts. They are most active in the early morning sun when the ground has not been fully warmed up yet. They seek refuge inside structures during when it gets too hot and at night. The eastern fence lizard is found in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Delaware, northern Florida, southern Wyoming, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and southeastern New York. It prefers open woodland and the edges of forests.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Phrynosomatidae
Genus:Sceloporus
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