How to identify it
Spiny lizard: keeled, pointed scales on the upper side and keeled, overlapping scales on the rear of the thigh. [1][2][3]
Colour extremely variable, usually striped or crossbanded. [1][2][3]
Adult males have blue patches on the sides of the throat and belly, in Colorado mountain populations with a wide black margin. [1][2][3]
Adult males show two enlarged scales on the underside of the tail base behind the vent and two bulges from the hemipenes. [1][2][3]
Total length up to about 19 cm (7.5 in); Colorado Parks and Wildlife describes it as slightly spinier than the prairie lizard. [1][2][3]
Compared with the prairie lizard (sceloporus consobrinus): Near-identical in the hand; Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the plateau fence lizard looks slightly spinier, and they are separated mainly by range. [1][2][3]
Compared with the southwestern fence lizard (sceloporus cowlesi): Separated by range (eastern Arizona and central New Mexico southward); the two hybridize in an ecotone in eastern Arizona. [1][2][3]
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.
- Prairie lizard · Sceloporus consobrinus
- Southwestern fence lizard · Sceloporus cowlesi
Where it lives
Open, rocky or shrubby ground: sunny rock outcrops, boulders, sandstone cliffs, hogbacks and canyon walls in sagebrush and shrubland, sometimes near abandoned buildings. [1][2][3]
How it behaves
Diurnal basker: inactive in cold spells and in the hottest part of a summer day, using sunny open spots in cool weather and shade when hot. [1][2][3]
Active roughly May to early October in Wyoming; females lay one to three clutches of 4-17 eggs in June or July and hatchlings appear in August. [1][2][3]
Insectivore: flies, grasshoppers, crickets, leafhoppers, ants, moths, plus spiders, ticks, millipedes and snails. [1][2][3]
Perches on rocks but also uses trees, logs, debris piles, buildings and dirt banks. [1][2][3]
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
- Arizona — reptile take · Arizona Reptile and Amphibian Regulations 2026-2030
- Colorado — reptile take · 2 CCR 406-7 Chapter W-7 Herpetofauna (03/04/2026; eff. 2026-05-01)
- Utah — reptile take · Reptile and amphibian species classification tables (R657-53), updated Apr. 22, 2026
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.
Where it is found
Southwestern Wyoming, eastern and southern Utah, western and south-central Colorado, northern and central Arizona and northern New Mexico; not in Canada. In Wyoming it is confined to the lower Green River valley and a narrow strip at the east edge of the Laramie Mountains.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
- BIOLOGICALPrairie Lizard and Plateau Fence Lizard
Colorado Parks and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Wyoming Game and Fish Department · reviewed 2026-09-30
Wyoming Game and Fish Department