[Picture of Blunt-nosed Leopard LIZARD]


Learn About The
Endangered Blunt-nosed LEOPARD LIZARD



Blunt-nosed LEOPARD LIZARD SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION


KINGDOM Animalia
PHYLUM Chordata
CLASS Reptilia
ORDER Squamata
SUBORDER Lacertilia
FAMILY Iguanidae
GENUS Gambelia
SPECIES silus
Common Name Blunt-nosed leopard lizard


The blunt-nosed leopard lizard
is a relatively large reptile with
a short, blunt snout and long, regenerative tail.


What is a reptile???
  • The word reptile means "crawling animal," but this is
    not the only feature that distinguishes these interesting
    animals.
  • They are cold-blooded, backboned animals that breathe air.
  • All reptiles are covered with scales or modified
    scales which are dry and firm.
  • They are neither cold nor slimy.
  • Some, like snakes and lizards, shed their skin
    periodically to allow for growth.
  • Others, such as turtles and tortoises, are surrounded
    by a shell to help protect them.
  • Many Reptiles have the ability to go long periods
    without eating.
  • Most reptiles are carnivorous and feed on mammals,
    birds, other reptiles, fish, insects and eggs.
  • Farmers find some types excellent for pest control
    since they will eat rodents, grasshoppers and other
    insects that destroy crops.
  • Reptiles capture their prey in different ways.
  • Some use powerful jaws, some capture by constriction
    and others poison their prey by injecting venom.


The Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard:
  • Is multicolored with a striping pattern on its back,
    which breaks into spots as the lizard grows.
  • This is the reason for the "leopard" in its name.
  • During the breeding season, nuptial (courting)
    females are recognized by the bright red-orange markings
    on the sides of the head and body and the undersides
    of the thighs and tail.
  • Males may also develop a nuptial color of salmon
    to bright rusty-red over the entire undersides of the
    body and limbs.
  • This coloration may persist indefinitely in males.
  • Blunt-nosed leopard lizards live in the San Joaquin
    Valley region in expansive, arid areas with scattered
    vegetation.
  • They inhabit non-native grassland and alkali sink
    scrub communities of the Valley floor, marked by poorly
    drained, alkaline, and saline soils, mainly because
    remaining natural land is of this type.
  • In the foothills of the southern San Joaquin
    Valley and Carrizo Plain, they occur in the chenopod
    community which is associated with non-alkaline,
    sandy soils.
  • They can be found at elevations ranging from 30 m
    (98 ft) to 792 m (2,600 ft) above sea level.
  • They are absent from areas of steep slopes and dense
    vegetation, and areas subject to seasonal flooding.
  • Insects, mostly grasshoppers, crickets, and moths
    comprise the major portion of their diet.
  • They are opportunistic when foraging for animals,
    feeding on whatever prey is of appropriate size for
    capture and consumption.
  • Other lizards also are eaten, as are their own
    recently-hatched young on occasion.
  • The yearly activity cycle of adults barely overlaps
    that of the newly-hatched young, so cannibalism is rare.
  • Blunt-nosed leopard lizards use small mammal burrows
    for permanent shelter and dormancy.
  • They also construct shallow tunnels under exposed
    rocks or earth berms for temporary and for
    permanent shelter in areas where small mammal
    burrows are scarce.
  • Seasonal activity above ground depends on weather
    conditions, especially temperature.
  • They spend the colder months of the year
    underground in a state of dormancy.
  • The breeding season is initiated in April and
    lasts into or through June.
  • Environmental conditions may influence the
    number of clutches females produce each year, but
    typically they lay only one.


WHY ARE THESE INTERESTING REPTILES ENDANGERD???

The former range of the blunt-nosed leopard lizard
encompassed the floor of the San Joaquin Valley and
Sierra foothills from Stanislaus County southward
to the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County.
West of the San Joaquin Valley, the species occurred
on the Kettleman and Carrizo Plains, and in the
southeastern Cuyama Valley in San Luis Obispo,
Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.
  • Loss of habitat to cultivation and farming.
  • Petroleum and mineral extraction.
  • Construction of transportation, communications,
    and irrigation infrastructures.
  • Development of former habitat has reduced and
    isolated the species into many small populations,
    scattered throughout portions of their historical
    geographic range.
  • Actual threats to remaining populations include
    habitat disturbance, destruction, and fragmentation.
  • Also, population decline may or may not result
    from insecticide and rodenticide spraying and drift.


TO PROTECT THE LEOPARD LIZARDS
  • They have been included in the state of California
    and in the U.S. Federal list of endangered species.

  • They are part of the Endangered Species recovery
    program, a cooperative research program administered
    and hosted by California State University,
    Stanislaus Foundation.
  • As urbanization and agricultural development had
    eliminated nearly all leopard lizard habitat in the
    San Joaquin Valley, a recovery team was appointed by
    the USFWS in 1975, and a recovery plan was published
    in 1981.
  • The DFG has acquired several ecological reserves
    which have populations of the blunt-nosed leopard lizard
    including Alkali Sink, Allensworth, and Antelope plains.
  • A coordinated effort by several agencies is
    underway to identify and protect important remaining
    habitats in the San Joaquin Valley and Carrizo Plain.
  • Several habitat conservation plans, which should
    benefit the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, are being
    developed in Kern and Fresno counties.



Music From: I Will Survive



Last Updated: 13-August-1998
WebMaster: Daisy Moreno daisymoreno@HotMail.com
Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved

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