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Prairie lizard

Sceloporus consobrinus · Lizards · Reptiles

Prairie lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus): Small, rough-scaled gray to brown lizard with no head horns; scales raised and keeled. Males: dark gray or brown above with little pattern; belly strongly marked with deep iridescent blue bordered by black, throat also blue. 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 consobrinus
Family
Phrynosomatidae
In North America
Native
Range
Central North America from southwestern Wyoming, Nebraska, southern South Dakota and Missouri south through eastern Colorado, eastern New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. Not found in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Small, rough-scaled gray to brown lizard with no head horns; scales raised and keeled. [1][2][3]

Males: dark gray or brown above with little pattern; belly strongly marked with deep iridescent blue bordered by black, throat also blue. [1][2][3]

Females: distinct wavy lines across the back, some orange or red at the tail base, belly white with faint dark spots and possibly pale blue along the sides. [1][2][3]

Total length 3.5-5.5 inches; females grow larger than males. [1][2][3]

Compared with the eastern fence lizard: Can be impossible to tell apart by pattern in Missouri; DNA testing needed (Missouri Department of Conservation). [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.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a prairie lizard before you act. Compared with the eastern fence lizard: Can be impossible to tell apart by pattern in Missouri; DNA testing needed (Missouri Department of Conservation).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Open woodlands, woodland and field edges and rocky glades; grassland, prairie, desert and dunes in parts of range. [1][2][3]

Usually sunny, open situations; some populations are rock-dwelling. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal and often escapes capture by running up trees; inactive in cold and in the hottest part of a summer day. [1][2][3]

Eats insects, spiders and other arthropods. [1][2][3]

Lays eggs in soil; retreats underground or to crevices when inactive. [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

Central North America from southwestern Wyoming, Nebraska, southern South Dakota and Missouri south through eastern Colorado, eastern New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. Not found in Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. BIOLOGICALPrairie Lizard

    Missouri Department of Conservation · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  3. Fort Hays State University · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Fort Hays State University