Greater Earless Lizard

Maybe not quite as exciting at Great Horned Owls -- or Grizzly Bears, but nonetheless a nice photo, is the Greater Earless Lizard. Found in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and the north central Mexican states, the Greater Earless Lizard is diurnal, active both day and night. They spend their day foraging for insects or basking in the sun. However, if temperatures get above 111 degrees they head back underground. They are characterized by the lack of external ear openings, which is presumably to prevent sand from entering their body while they dig. 

greater earless lizard

Lizards - Part III

Lizards for the most part are harmless and the fact that they eat bugs certainly is in there favor. The Gila Monster is the only venomous lizard in the U.S. and one of only two in North America. It grows to about 2 feet but is very slow moving and docile. Unlike rattlesnakes that inject venom through their fangs, the Gila Monster just secrets its venom into its own mouth which in turn gets into its prey once bitten. There are some comic books and movies (from the 1930's) of Gila Monsters the size of an automobile terrorizing towns just like Godzilla. But, truth be told, you would have to pick one up and stick your finger in its mouth before it would bite you. Nonetheless Gila Monsters are protected and you can't touch them, keep them as pets, or kill them. Here are a few more lizard photos, starting with the Gila Monster.

Gila Monster (The Azure Gate)

Great Basin Collard Lizard (Florida Mountains, Southwestern New Mexico)

Greater Earless Lizard (The Azure Gate)

Lesser Earless Lizard (Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona)

Ornate Tree Lizard (Agua Caliente, Arizona)

It's Time for Lizards

With the hot weather comes the lizards. The first is the Collard Lizard taken in Sabino Canyon. This is the least common of the three shown. He turns this wonderful blue and yellow color during his breeding season. The second is the Desert Spiny Lizard which we seem to have a lot of around here. We have one that spends most of his day in our carport. He acts as if he owns the place as he stares us down when we want to pass by. He also does "pushups" to show us how tough he is. Then a little smaller is the Greater Earless Lizard also taken here on the property. We had a baby one year that used to like to sit on the arm of an outdoor rocker we had on the porch.