Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been observing reptiles in southern California since the late 60s. Most of my observations have dealt with popualtion changes. I went to a new location (about 7-10 miles ESE of lake Elsinore) in west Riverside County. This location is on private property! I have spent years in the surrounding areas so I thought I knew what I would see. I started seeing small to moderate size lizards ( fence lizard sizes ) with very strange markings. I found an abondonded house with several of these lizards on the walls, and finaly got a good look at them.. I hate to do this but I have to give a written description at this point. We will be returning this weekend with a digital camera and will post the pictures then.
These lizards had dark bars acroos the entire body with hues of blue and green over black with orange tint on the sides. The banding was very vivid from tip of nose to tip of tail. There were also spots of brown and orange scattered over the pattern. The head was tinted bright orange with the base pattern still visable underneath. The entire stomach and throat was dark blue (but the young lizards do not have the blue underneath).
Then I searched the boulders and found the same lizards just as vividly colored but between 15"-20" including tail. Very large lizard. Heavy bodied but extremely fast. Hops from boulder top to boulder top 2-3 feet, and is extremely wary.
This was the most beautiful and largest lizard I have seen in this area. I have never seen it before and believe it to be a sub species of the spiny lizard. It is rough scaled and resembles many of the characteristics in the field guids. But the range maps and pictures do not come close. The habitat is scattered oak (scarce) chapparal and juniper with massive boulder outcrops and rocky terrain. Sub desert elevated at 1500 feet in elevation. Summer temps over 100 daily. This location is about 35 miles West of the coastal slopes of the San Jacinto mountains at Hemet. Any ideas? I will post pictures next week and hopefully I will have a speciman as well. Very hard to catch.

Local kids call them Tiger Lizards. And say they are rare. However I found them localy abundant.

It would be nice to view an image. Sceloporus are the only lizards with rough (assuming keeled) scales of that region. Female Granite Spiny Lizards often possess barred pattern and blue bellies (males of that area sometimes are entirely blue below) and they frequently climb walls. One the otherhand I havent seen Granites with orange on head. Female Desert Spiny have orange coloration about the head, and its not impossible to find introduced or species beyond there recognized distributiuon. Please post picture.

Sounds like you found a family of Granite spiney's.
Even though they are not on the boulders I would asume they found their own space.
I have seen quite a few out that way.
Here's a link. http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/pages/s.orcutti.html
Let us know if they look like the ones on this link.

Tony
Link

I am almost certain it is a granit spiny. The pictures are close except for the Orange heads. There is a distinct line from shoulder up neck and the entire head is tinted orange. Very dramatic coloring. More so than those pictures. And yes the large lizards were on the boulders. I am returning to the site Saturday and I will definately get some good pics and post them here.

Note. These lizards are very abundant in this small local area, but cannot be found in any nearby properties with similair habitat. It is probably just a variant coloration of the Granite Spiny.