Northern Alligator Lizard

At a glance

Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea) is an IUCN Least Concern reptile with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.

Confirmed by 11,866 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with California, British Columbia, and Washington the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• One of North America's few lizard species that gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.
• Ranges from Baja California north to southern British Columbia along the Pacific Coast.
• Reaches total lengths of about 10 inches (25 cm), with over half being tail.
• Can voluntarily shed its tail to escape a predator, then slowly regrow it.
• Eats insects, spiders, slugs, and small lizards found in damp forest and meadow edges.

Where Northern Alligator Lizard are seen

• California5,764 iNat obs
• British Columbia2,603 iNat obs
• Washington2,127 iNat obs
• Oregon1,199 iNat obs
• Idaho104 iNat obs
• Montana66 iNat obs

Background

The northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea) is a medium-sized lizard that occurs on the North American west coast.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Northern Alligator Lizard article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.