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Index of Lizards By Name

Eastern Fence Lizard

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order / Suborder

Squamata / Lacertilia

Family

Iguanidae (Iguanid Lizards)

Genus

Sceloporus

Species

S. undulatus

Binomial Name

Sceloporus undulatus

Eastern Fence Lizard Images

How To Identify Eastern Fence Lizards

  • Eastern Fence Lizards are sexually dimorphic in both size and color.
  • They can grow up to 7.5 inches long (19.1 cm), measured from tip of snout to tip of tail.
    • Females grow larger, on average, than males.
  • Females:
    • Gray dorsally with distinct black zig-zag or chevron markings.
    • Pale yellow or white ventrally.
  • Males:
    • Gray to reddish with faint chevron stripes dorsally.
    • Multi-colored ventrally:
      • Patches of bright blue or green scales along the sides of their throats.
      • Venters are bright blue or green, bordered with black.
        • Environmental temperatures alter the color intensity of these patches. The colors are brightest and most saturated when male Eastern Fence Lizards are close to their ideal temperature (98.6° F or 36°C) (Goodlett and Stevenson 2019), and fade when the lizards are cold.
        • Males use these patches to signal fitness to rival males and females.
  • Both sexes have:
    • Keeled scales that give the lizards a rough appearance.
    • Long, thin tails.
    • Splayed body posture.
    • Clawed feet.
  • Eastern Fence Lizards are arboreal; look for them in sunny locations near trees.

Eastern Fence Lizard Notes

  • Eastern Fence Lizards feed on a wide variety of invertebrates, including beetles and other insects, spiders, centipedes, and snails.
  • Eastern Fence Lizards hibernate through North Carolina winters.
    • At least some individuals have demonstrated full recovery from being frozen (see “freeze tolerance“) (Pauly 2012).
    • They emerge in the spring around March, when temperatures warm.
  • Male Eastern Fence Lizards are territorial and compete with each other for access to females by “showing off” with a variety of behaviors in the presence of females.
    • “Show-off” behaviors include:
      • Shuddering: Sharp, fast, vertical head bobs.
      • Performing push-ups: Sharp, vertical bobs of their bodies by alternating bending and straightening their front legs.
      • Raising their bodies to display their colored abdominal badges.
  • Female Eastern Fence Lizards choose the males with whom they will mate.
    • Females appear to prefer males with longer heads, wider throat badges, and that performed more shudder behavior (Swierk et al. 2012).
      • They approach the chosen males and perform their own push-ups.
    • The size and color of the males’ abdominal patches and their push-ups do not seem to have much impact on the females’ choice of mates (Swierk et al. 2012) but may be important in male-male competitions.
  • Female Eastern Fence Lizards lay 6-10 eggs in late spring under rotting logs, which hatch in mid-summer. Females may lay a second clutch of eggs later in the season as well (Martof et al. 1980).
  • Eastern Fence Lizards are heavily parasitized by the larvae of Chigger Mites (Eutrombicula alfreddugesi) (Hailey et al. 2023), type of arachnid that also parasitizes humans.
    • Unlike some types of parasites, Chigger Mite larvae do not drink the blood of Eastern Fence Lizards. Instead, they feed on the lizards’ skin, first liquefying it and then drinking it, along with the lizards’ lymph fluid (Hailey et al. 2023). Once the larvae have drunk their fill, the Chiggers drop off and continue their development.