Southern Alligator Lizard

Photo: Heidi Rockney
Photo: Heidi Rockney
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Elgaria multicarinata

What they look like

  • Southern alligator lizards are large rough-scaled lizards with short limbs and a long tail.
  • Their body can be up to 5.6 inches long and their tail is about twice its body length.
  • Their back is brown with black spots that form numerous bands across the body’s width. Their underside is light colored.

All About Amphibians

Name: Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
Order: Lizard (Squamata)
Family: Alligator Lizards (Anguidae)

A southern alligator lizard sitting on a tree branch
Photo: Heidi Rockney
Photo: Heidi Rockney

A Southern Alligator Lizard

Fast Facts

Where they live

  • View a map of where they live.
  • Southern alligator lizards can be found along the Pacific coast of Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California.
  • Tend to live in grassy, brushy, or rocky openings within forested areas, especially Oregon oak-ponderosa pine.
  • They are oftentimes found along creeks, where they swim or bask on rocks.

What they eat

  • Southern alligator lizards feed on small arthropods, slugs, lizards, small mammals, and occasionally young birds and eggs.

Breeding

  • In June or July, females lay up to 20 eggs, which hatch after around 55 days.
  • Cool Biology Facts
  • The southern alligator lizard was discovered from collections gathered during the mid-1850s U.S.-Mexican Boundary Survey.

Threats

  • Even though human development has caused population declines in certain areas, they are considered “least concern” due to their tolerance of moderate human development, large distribution, adaptability to a wide variety of habitats, and large stable populations.
  • View their status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
small brown salamander on bright green vegetation

Amphibians & Reptiles of Washington

Do you know where rattlesnakes live in our state? Or which salamander breathes through its skin? Explore the fascinating diversity of the 26 species of amphibians and 28 reptiles found in Washington state.

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