MOUNT CHARLESTON
We decided to check out this area that was about 6500 feet in elevation in Nevada.
Two more "lifers" were found in this area. The first was this gravid female Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus graciosus). We found a male in this area as well.
True to its name, the Sagebrush Lizard is commonly observed in shrublands; it can be encountered on open, flat, grassy plains and plateaus, wooded foothills, rocky canyons and on steep forested slopes. Though they will bask on logs and rocky outcrops, I’ve seen a fair number of them on the ground.
Adult Sagebrush Lizards have blue patches on each side of the belly and their throat is mottled or streaked with blue. Adult females have only a pale blue coloration on their bellies, but may develop red or orange colors when gravid (carrying eggs).
The lizard was much larger than the Fence Lizards I've seen in California, yet not "spiky" enough to be a Spiny Lizard. I was puzzled as to what its identity was.
After consulting with some experts, it was determined that these were Great Basin Fence Lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes). They get mighty big compared to other subspecies of Fence Lizards. These were another "lifer" for me (that's three so far on this trip).
This was a fun and unexpected desert find. The Mojave Desert habitat below the mountain is not inhabitable by this reptile, so my only chances of seeing them in the Las Vegas Area is at elevations high enough to have a temperate climate.
There are many neat rock formations in the Mojave Desert.
Side-blotched Lizards are the most abundant and commonly observed lizards in the Las Vegas-area desert.
Another fine desert habitat worth exploring.
Desert Cows.
I often encounter Desert Spiny Lizards on Cottonwood Trees that line waterways in the Mojave Desert. In some cases I hear them before I see them, as they run up tree trunks making a surprising amount of noise.
Whiptails are medium-sized, long, slim-bodied, diurnal, fast-moving, l lizards with long thin tails. They are typically found in hot, dry, flat open spaces.
