Summary ⁶

The eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is a medium-sized species of lizard found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the prairie lizard, fence swift, gray lizard, northern fence lizard or pine lizard. It is also referred to colloquially as the horn-billed lizard.

Range description ⁷

This species ranges from New York to Florida, west to Utah and Arizona, north to South Dakota and central Indiana, and south to the Gulf Coast and Zacatecas (Stebbins 2003). The elevational range extends from sea level to around 3,050 m (10,000 feet) (Stebbins 2003).

Habitat and ecology ⁸

Habitat and Ecology

• Terrestrial

Behaviour ⁹

To attract mates and warn off other individuals, male eastern fence lizards do head bob displays, push ups, and puff themselves up. Head-bobs and push-ups are done in 4 to 5 second durations.

Communication Channels: visual

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; vibrations ; chemical

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Glen Peterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/trombamarina/4633035002/
2. (c) Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0211/0909.jpeg
3. (c) Charles (Chuck) Peterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/petechar/33791930802/
4. (c) John Flannery, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/drphotomoto/3590763676/
5. (c) Andrew Hoffman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/71701055@N00/299890560/
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceloporus_undulatus
7. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34713783
8. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34713785
9. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31421747

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

iNat Map