Urosaurus graciosus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Urosaurus graciosus |
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Urosaurus
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graciosus
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The long-tailed brush lizard, also known as Urosaurus graciosus, is a type of lizard. It belongs to the family called Phrynosomatidae. These lizards live in the southwestern United States and nearby northern Mexico.
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Where Does the Long-Tailed Brush Lizard Live?
The long-tailed brush lizard makes its home in the Mojave Desert and the northwestern Sonoran Desert. You can find them in the U.S. states of California, Arizona, and Nevada. They also live in the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora. These lizards prefer dry, desert areas.
Why Is It Called a Long-Tailed Brush Lizard?
This lizard gets its name from two main things. First, its tail is super long, more than twice the length of its body! Second, you will almost always find it on a tree or shrub. They love to hang out on branches, which is why they are called "brush" lizards.
What Does the Long-Tailed Brush Lizard Do?
The long-tailed brush lizard has gray or tan colors. This helps it blend in perfectly with tree branches. It uses this camouflage to hide while it waits for insects to come by. It's a clever hunter!
Unlike many other lizards in its family, the long-tailed brush lizard does not bury itself in the sand at night. Instead, it spends the night sleeping on the very tips of branches. This might help it stay safe from predators on the ground.
How to Tell This Lizard Apart
It can be tricky to tell different lizards apart, but here's how to spot a long-tailed brush lizard:
- From the tree lizard: The long-tailed brush lizard has a tail more than two times its body length. It also does not have a line of smaller scales down its back, which the tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) does.
- From the black-tailed brush lizard: Again, the long-tailed brush lizard has a tail more than twice its body length. Its back scales are much bigger and suddenly change to tiny, grainy scales on its sides. The black-tailed brush lizard (Urosaurus nigricaudus) has only slightly bigger back scales that change slowly to side scales.
- From other brush lizards: You can often tell it apart from other Urosaurus lizards just by knowing where it lives.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The long-tailed brush lizard is an oviparous animal. This means that the female lizard lays eggs. The young lizards hatch from these eggs.
Types of Long-Tailed Brush Lizards
Scientists recognize two main types, or subspecies, of the long-tailed brush lizard:
- Urosaurus graciosus graciosus (named by Hallowell in 1854)
- Urosaurus graciosus shannoni (named by Lowe in 1955)
The subspecific name shannoni honors an American expert on reptiles, Frederick Albert Shannon.
Images for kids
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A long-tailed brush lizard on a branch.
See also
In Spanish: Lagartija arbolera de cola larga para niños
