Southern Alligator Lizard
Dewey and the Alligator Lizards (note: these are alligators, not lizards, but I got your attention, right?)
Alligator Lizards in the Air
-by El Berryman
In honor of Reptile Awareness Day on October 21, it’s only fitting to feature a reptile this month. So, for October we’re highlighting our largest lizard on the Punta Banda Peninsula, the Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata).
Many ex-pats in the Punta Banda community are old enough to remember the band “America” and its popular song, “Ventura Highway.” The song includes a stanza that invokes a carefree day in southern California (not Baja California, but pretty darn close):
'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air, in the air
That last line plays in my head every time I see the long, serpentine form of an alligator lizard lounging across my path as I stroll across the Punta Banda landscape. And when I sat down to write about these guys for “Species of the Month” the line popped up again, so I had to look up its origin. It turns out that "alligator lizards in the air" refers to the shapes of clouds that the songwriter, Dewey Bunnell, spotted when idly musing during a childhood trip while dad was fixing a flat tire on the roadside.
Naturally, rather than floating across the sky, real in-the-flesh alligator lizards stick about as close to the ground as you can get. Typically ranging in length from 10 to 16 inches including their long, tapering tails, alligator lizards often startle hikers with their snakelike appearance. Despite their name, they’re not related to alligators. Although they have strong jaws and can give you a pretty fierce bite if intensely provoked, they’re otherwise quite shy around humans. As solitary animals they do, however, sometimes engage in aggressive behavior toward invading alligator lizards, biting, tail slapping, and wrestling. During mating, the male bites the female on her neck or head and may hold her this way for several days, guarding her from other males.
Mating Alligator Grip
Alligator lizards are carnivorous, meaning of course that they eat other animals. And naturally they, in turn, are eaten by other animals. They primarily feed on insects, spiders, small mammals, and even other lizards. Occasionally they’re cannibals, consuming their own species. Their hunting style is opportunistic; they lie in wait and strike quickly. Common predators of these lizards include snakes (e.g., rattlesnakes and garter snakes) and birds (e.g., hawks and roadrunners). Near developed areas other common predators are domestic cats, which can decimate local lizard populations and deprive the native predators of food. Like most lizards, when threatened they can drop their tails to escape predators, and their tails then grow back.
Beep beep! Coyote 0, Roadrunner 1
The southern alligator lizard is native to the western United States and northern Baja California, and uses a variety of habitats including chaparral, grasslands, and even suburban yards and gardens. It prefers areas with ample ground cover, such as rocks or leaf litter, where it can hide from predators and ambush prey. It also needs nearby open areas for basking (don’t we all?).
Human Basking like a Lizard
So when you’re ambling about on a beautiful October afternoon and gazing at shapes in the clouds, remember to look down now and then, and keep your eyes out for our captivating earthbound neighbors. And happy Reptile Awareness Day!
