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Granite spiny lizard

Sceloporus orcutti · Lizards · Reptiles

Granite spiny lizard (Sceloporus orcutti). 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.

Scientific name
Sceloporus orcutti
Family
Phrynosomatidae
In North America
Native
Range
From the north side of San Gorgonio Pass (Peninsular Ranges, southern California) south to near La Paz in southern Baja California, including several Gulf of California islands; sea level to about 2,130 m.
Biology

Granite spiny lizard at a glance

Granite spiny lizard (Sceloporus orcutti). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Compared with the desert spiny lizard: Listed as a similar species by the San Diego Natural History Museum atlas (no distinguishing marks given). [1][2]

Biology

How to identify it

Compared with the desert spiny lizard: Listed as a similar species by the San Diego Natural History Museum atlas (no distinguishing marks given). [1][2]

Compared with the western fence lizard: Listed as a similar species by the San Diego Natural History Museum atlas (no distinguishing marks given). [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a granite spiny lizard before you act. Compared with the desert spiny lizard: Listed as a similar species by the San Diego Natural History Museum atlas (no distinguishing marks given).[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Granite outcrops in chaparral and oak-covered slopes on the coastal side of southern California mountains, also yellow pine habitat. [1][2]

On the desert side, rocky canyons and upper alluvial slopes with chaparral, palms or mesquite. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Generally associated with rocks, but sometimes climbs into vegetation (agaves, palms, willows) or occurs on the ground among shrubs. [1][2]

Eats insects, lizards and occasionally buds and fleshy fruits. [1][2]

Lays 6-15 eggs May-July; probably buries eggs in the soil; inactive in cold and extreme heat. [1][2]

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

From the north side of San Gorgonio Pass (Peninsular Ranges, southern California) south to near La Paz in southern Baja California, including several Gulf of California islands; sea level to about 2,130 m.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. San Diego Natural History Museum (theNAT) Amphibian and Reptile Atlas of Peninsular California · reviewed 2026-09-30

    San Diego Natural History Museum (theNAT) Amphibian and Reptile Atlas of Peninsular California