Short & Stout

Can you #FindThatLizard in the City?

The western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, adapts really well to urbanized areas such as Downtown Los Angeles.

In undisturbed or less urbanized areas, you can commonly find western fence lizards on rocks, logs, and tree trunks. However, in urbanized areas, they may switch to buildings, walls, and sidewalks. This switch can, over time, cause changes in the lizard’s morphology (the shape of its body).

It's promising that these lizards are adapting to urbanization as humans continue to develop land; however, there are always trade-offs. A study by Putman et al examined four populations of western fence lizards in Los Angeles, comparing more and less urbanized areas.

Their research suggests that lizards in more urbanized areas (using more human-made structures) have shorter limbs and toes than those in less urbanized areas. However, this could also be due to a lack of traditional predators. Lizards that are usually on flat surfaces have longer limbs for sprinting, while shorter limbs may be beneficial for climbing and may help these lizards escape domesticated predators like cats (keep them in the house!).

They also found that urban lizards had fewer dorsal scales, the scales covering the top of their bodies. It tends to be hotter in urbanized areas because there is less tree and vegetation cover. Fewer and larger scales tend to help prevent evaporative water loss.

We often think of lizards as creatures that love the heat, but they can also overheat!

Although some urban areas might be cooler due to irrigation, humans still need to be more focused on conservation as we build and expand our cities. Lizards require good and consistent habitats.

I hope you #FoundThatLizard! Let me know in the comments.