In Which Gita Is Entirely Surrounded by Lizards (Dragons)

On my hike in Madera Canyon earlier this month, I was rather surrounded by lizards. Mostly, they were Yarrow's spiny lizards (Sceloporus jarrovii), in part because this species is very common in the Sky Islands south of Tucson, and in part because they are not as easily startled as some other lizards, so you're likely to see them. Some of them even stood their ground in the middle of the path until I practically stepped over them.

This has led to the species being relatively well studied among not only herpetologists, but also ecologists, geneticists, and others, including studies of their phylogenetics and species differentiation, perception of predators and escape behavior, sexual dimorphism, ectoparisitism and theromoregulation, predator-prey interactions, and nutritional effects on growth.

One thing that can make lizards difficult to identify is that their coloration, while striking to the observer, is often not the best identifier. There is lots of variation in coloration both among individuals and over time, due to factors such as camouflage, temperature, or hormones, depending on the species. For example, Yarrow's spiny lizards can be quite dark black when they are cold, but become more colorful in the heat, while also exhibiting blue patches that are dependent on testosterone. And gosh were these guys colorful. I thought they looked particularly dragon-like. Yes, I'm aware of how silly that sounds, but given the amount of fantasy I read as a kid, it's a true statement nonetheless.

I love that you can see the side throat patch here that disappears in the next photo.

Peek-a-boo!

These two were having quite the stand-off, and I sat down to watch them for a while.

There are a lot of animals that we're not really used to seeing head on, or at least not in photos, and I always get a kick out of these unusual perspectives.

  

The throat patch on this one was particularly vibrant (and dragon-like!😂).

Lest my telephoto lens and subsequent cropping give you the mistaken impression that these lizards are larger than they are, here's a zoomed out shot of one of the smaller individuals. Perhaps not quite #FindThatLizard worthy, but not exactly large enough to leap out at you either. It's often their motion that catches the eye.

And the same individual, a bit closer:

This one was clearly comparatively young, probably only a few inches long, and quite adorable.

Alright, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed these lovely lizards (dragons)!