The author of California Snakes and How to Find Them invites budding reptile enthusiasts into a wonderland of lizards.
‘This guide joyfully celebrates the beauty and quirkiness of our native lizards.’ — John Muir Laws
Lizards: they are cute, endearing, and mind-bogglingly diverse, and yet they are so easy to overlook among California’s natural abundance. Start watching them, though, and a wonderland of lizard life appears. In California Lizards and How to Find Them, lizard lover Emily Taylor profiles over 60 native and introduced species, from California’s iconic Western Fence Lizard to the adorable Desert Iguana to the chonky Ringed Wall Gecko. With her expert knowledge and joyous, laugh-out-loud writing, Taylor provides tips for finding, watching, and responsibly catching lizards. She offers absorbing insights on lizard evolution, and she explains the toll of invasive lizard species on California’s ecosystems. Featuring more than 100 full-color photographs, and designed for easy use in everyday life, this is the ideal guide for budding reptile enthusiasts and longtime naturalists alike.
Table of Content
Preface
Introduction
Lizards in Wonderland: Why California Has So Many Lizards
What are Lizards?
A Tale of Two Lizards
How to Find and Watch Lizards in California
Catching Lizards: A Cautionary ‘Tail’
Family Anguidae
- Northern Alligator Lizard
- Southern Alligator Lizard
- Panamint Alligator Lizard
Family Anniellidae
- Legless Lizards
Family Chamaeleonidae
- Jackson’s Chameleon
Family Crotaphytidae
- Great Basin Collared Lizard
- Baja California Collared Lizard
- Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard
- Long-nosed and Cope’s Leopard Lizards
Family Dactyloidae
- Green Anole
- Brown Anole
Family Eublepharidae
- Switak’s Banded Gecko
- Western Banded Gecko
Family Gekkonidae
- Rough-tailed Bowfoot Gecko
- House Geckos
Family Helodermatidae
- Gila Monster
- Family Iguanidae
- Desert Iguana
- Common Chuckwalla
Family Lacertidae
- Italian Wall Lizard
Family Phrynosomatidae
- Zebra-tailed Lizard
- Banded Rock Lizard
- Coast Horned Lizard
- Pygmy Short-horned Lizard
- Flat-tailed Horned Lizard
- Desert Horned Lizard
- Common Sagebrush Lizard
- Desert Spiny Lizard
- Fence Lizards
- Granite Spiny Lizard
- Fringe-toed Lizards
- Brush Lizards
- Ornate Tree Lizard
- Common Side-blotched Lizard
Family Phyllodactylidae
- Peninsula Leaf-toed Gecko
- Wall Geckos
- Family Scincidae
- Ocellated Skink
- Gilbert’s Skink
- Western Skink
Family Teiidae
- Orange-throated Whiptail
- Non-native Whiptails
- Western Whiptail
Family Xantusiidae
- Sandstone and Granite Night Lizards
- Island Night Lizard
- Desert Night Lizard and Relatives
Acknowledgments
Recommended Further Reading
About the Author
About the author
Emily Taylor is a professor of biological sciences at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where she conducts research on the physiology, ecology, and conservation biology of lizards and snakes. Taylor is founder of the community science initiative Project Rattle Cam (rattlecam.org) and owner of Central Coast Snake Services (centralcoastsnakeservices.com). Her first book, California Snakes and How to Find Them, was published by Heyday in 2024. She lives in Atascadero with her husband, Steve, and their menagerie of rescue animals, including Pax the dog, Baby the boa constrictor, Aperol Spritz the bearded dragon, and rattlesnakes Buzz and Snakeholio. Follow her at @snakeymama.
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