A small, gray, tan, or orange-brown lizard with variable markings. Coloration usually matches the soil on which the lizard lives. Body markings usually consist of four rows of brown blotches or chevrons extending from the neck to the tail and light speckles on the upper surfaces of the body and limbs. Some specimens lack markings. Two black bars mark each lower side of the body just behind the forelimb. Males often have a yellow tint on the lower sides, blue outlines around the side bars, copious light speckling, and less distinct dorsal blotches. Gravid females often have a pink or peach tint and an orange throat patch.
Ten Facts about Lesser Earless Lizard
- They belongs to the family of Phrynosomatidae, Earless and Horned Lizards.
- Their size up to 4-6 1/4" (10-16 cm).
- Mates during spring and summer.
- Lays an average of 5-7 eggs, April to September; hatchlings appear May to October.
- Sandy soil areas in grassy prairie, cultivated fields, dry streambeds, desert grasslands.
- They can be found in S. South Dakota through the Great Plains to c. Texas, west through most of New Mexico and Arizona into Mexico.
- Two enlarged scales on underside of tail just behind vent; black, blue-edged bars on belly; may have yellowish wash on sides.
- Black bars on belly lack blue edge; reproductive females during the breeding season have yellow-orange on throat and on sides of head and neck and orange on sides of body.
- The Common Lesser Earless Lizard feeds on a variety of insects including grasshoppers, beetles, bees, wasps, ants, true bugs, butterflies, and moths.
- Predators includes racers (snakes), broad-winged hawks, and several small mammals.
