Zebra-Tailed Lizard

At a glance

Zebra-Tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides) is an IUCN Least Concern reptile with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.

Confirmed by 9,574 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Arizona, California, and Nevada the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• They flash the black-and-white barred underside of their tail as a warning display to predators.
• They're among the fastest lizards in North America, sometimes sprinting bipedally on their hind legs.
• Adults typically reach 6–9 inches in total length, with the tail making up most of that.
• They inhabit open, sandy desert flats and washes across the southwestern US and Mexico.
• They're active insectivores, eating beetles, grasshoppers, and other small invertebrates.

Where Zebra-Tailed Lizard are seen

• Arizona4,275 iNat obs
• California4,045 iNat obs
• Nevada1,019 iNat obs
• Utah230 iNat obs
• New Mexico5 iNat obs

Background

Zebra-tailed lizards (Callisaurus draconoides) are a genus of phrynosomatid lizards endemic to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

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

Other reptiles on CatchRules

• Pond SliderTrachemys scripta
• Western Fence LizardSceloporus occidentalis
• Painted TurtleChrysemys picta
• North American RacerColuber constrictor