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Long-nosed leopard lizard

Gambelia wislizenii · Lizards · Reptiles

Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii): Moderate-sized lizard with a tail more than twice the length of the rest of the body and a relatively large head (NDOW). Small scales over the whole body; white, gray or cream with darker spots on the back and legs (NDOW). 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
Gambelia wislizenii
Family
Crotaphytidae
In North America
Native
Range
Oregon, southern Idaho, Utah and western Colorado south through eastern and southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to northeastern Baja California and north-central mainland Mexico (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Moderate-sized lizard with a tail more than twice the length of the rest of the body and a relatively large head (NDOW). [1][2]

Small scales over the whole body; white, gray or cream with darker spots on the back and legs (NDOW). [1][2]

Breeding females develop bright orange spots along the sides (NDOW). [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Sandy and rocky desert and semidesert with scattered low shrubs (creosotebush, sagebrush), especially areas with many rodent burrows; avoids dense vegetation (NDOW; NatureServe). [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly ground-dwelling; when threatened runs to the base of a shrub and freezes (NDOW; NatureServe). [1][2]

Not territorial; adults largely ignore each other except when mating (NDOW). [1][2]

Eats insects, spiders, lizards, snakes, small rodents and some plant material, and can eat a lizard nearly its own size (NDOW). [1][2]

Active about May-August in the north and late March or April to late summer or fall in the south; animals active in late summer are mostly hatchlings (NatureServe). [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

Oregon, southern Idaho, Utah and western Colorado south through eastern and southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to northeastern Baja California and north-central mainland Mexico (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Nevada Department of Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Nevada Department of Wildlife