Southern Alligator Lizard

Elgaria multicarinata (Gerrhonotus multicarinatus)

Alligator lizards are covered with heavy scales reinforced with bony plates. A fold of skin along each side of the body allows these lizards to expand after eating a huge meal or when females are swollen with eggs. These lizards are usually found under logs and rocks, but occasionally they climb into brush, aided by their stiff tails. Look for them in sunny forest glades.

Look For : A slim-bodied, long-tailed lizard with yellow eyes, short legs, and a well-defined fold on each side of its body. Dark bands across back and tail; faint lengthwise dashes or stripes down middle rows of scales on belly.

Length : 10-16".

Habitat : Coastal oak woodlands and chaparral, grasslands, moist canyon bottoms.

Range : Most of California and coastal Oregon.