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Common lesser earless lizard

Holbrookia maculata · Lizards · Reptiles

Common lesser earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata): No external ear openings (CPW). Striped or speckled back; two black bars on each side of the belly, sometimes described as bars near the armpits; up to about 13 cm total length (CPW; TPWD). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Common lesser earless lizard — verified North Ground species photograph
Adobe Stock · Standard License (asset 453382827)
Scientific name
Holbrookia maculata
Family
Phrynosomatidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern South Dakota to central Texas, southwest to southeastern Utah and Arizona, and south to Jalisco and Guanajuato, Mexico (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

No external ear openings (CPW). [1][2][3]

Striped or speckled back; two black bars on each side of the belly, sometimes described as bars near the armpits; up to about 13 cm total length (CPW; TPWD). [1][2][3]

Mature male: two enlarged scales under the tail behind the vent, black blue-edged belly bars, possible yellowish wash on the sides (CPW). [1][2][3]

Mature female: belly bars lack blue edging; breeding females show yellow-orange on the throat, head and neck and orange on the sides (CPW). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Sparsely vegetated sandy or gravelly ground: sandhills, prairie-dog towns, washes, streambanks, dunes, sagebrush flats and open prairie (CPW; NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mainly diurnal, but may be active in the evening and at night in hot weather (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Takes cover in rodent burrows or burrows into sand (CPW). [1][2][3]

Eats mainly insects and spiders (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Active March-October in the north; lays 1-2 clutches between April and September (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Southern South Dakota to central Texas, southwest to southeastern Utah and Arizona, and south to Jalisco and Guanajuato, Mexico (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Colorado Parks and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife

  3. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Texas Parks and Wildlife Department