On our second field trip to Francis Marion National Forest, we were fortunate enough to see an Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporous undulatus) towards the end of our outing. These lizards are in the Family Phrynosomatidae (spiny and horned lizards), and they were featured on our South Carolina species list.
The eastern fence lizard has rough scales and they have a grayish/brown
background color with dark narrow undulating crossbands along their backs. Their
ventral side is whitish in color with scattered dark flecks. The males have
coloration on the sides of their bellies and throats, which tend to be patches
of a bluish color, that they utilize during breeding season in order to attract
females. Males and females are generally the same size, with adults ranging
from 9 to 19 centimeters in length. These lizards are found in habitats
consisting of open forests and dry wooded areas ranging across the Southeastern
US. Fence lizards are diurnal, often spending time basking atop objects such as
fences or logs, and they forage daily for insects and other arthropods in the
forest.
They are arboreal, meaning that they dwell in the trees of these
forests, or sometimes in logs or stumps. Their color and pattern having dark
wavy lines along their dorsum can often provide cryptic coloration against the background
of large trees on which they rest during the day. Luckily we were able to spot
an eastern lizard during the day and had the opportunity to hold and observe it.
- eastern fence lizard
1 comment:
Was this individual a male or female? Did we have any information about the specific type of habitat where it was captured?
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