Xantusia () is one of three genera of night lizards. Species of Xantusia are small to medium-sized, viviparous (live-bearing) lizards found in the U.S. Southwest and in northern Mexico. These lizards display morphological adaptations to specific microhabitats. They occupy rock crevices and decaying plants. Rock dwellers generally have brighter coloration, longer limbs and digits, and larger size than plant dwellers, which are generally duller, smaller, and have shorter limbs.
Species of the genus Xantusia are remarkably disjunct, with populations scattered throughout the deserts and mountains of the far western borderlands with only a handful of recorded cases of interspecific allopatry. The genus contains at least seven distinct cases of morphological convergence to the rock dwelling ecomorph in Arizona, California, Baja California, and Central Mexico.
The island night lizard is a species of night lizard native to three of the Channel Islands of California: San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island, and San Clemente Island. A small number of island night lizards also live on Sutil Island, near Santa Barbara Island.
The desert night lizard is a night lizard native to the Southern California Eastern Sierra and the San Gabriel Mountains into Baja California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and extreme western areas of Arizona.
Saltoposuchus is an extinct genus of small, long-tailed crocodylomorph reptile (Sphenosuchia), from the Norian of Europe. The name translated means "leaping foot crocodile". It has been proposed that Terrestrisuchus gracilis and Saltoposuchus connectens represent different ontogenetic stages of the same genus. Saltoposuchus was commonly referred to in popular literature as the ancestor to dinosaurs, however, recent scientific research show that this is not the case.
Indio Hills Palms Park Property and the Coachella Valley Preserve, located in the Indio Hills, contain the Thousand Palms Oasis and are a protected area in the Coachella Valley, located east of Palm Springs near Palm Desert, California. The Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is contained within the Coachella Valley Preserve, and all are in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert and adjacent to the Lower Colorado River Valley region.
Gracilis, a Latin adjective meaning slender, graceful or gracile, may refer to :
The granite night lizard is a species of xantusiid lizard endemic to North America.
Aridoamerica denotes an ecological region spanning Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, defined by the presence of the culturally significant staple foodstuff Phaseolus acutifolius, a drought-resistant bean. Its dry, arid climate and geography stand in contrast to the verdant Mesoamerica of present-day central Mexico into Central America to the south and east, and the higher, milder "island" of Oasisamerica to the north. Aridoamerica overlaps with both.
The Arizona night lizard is a species of small smooth-skinned gray-brown lizards with dark spots that sometimes form partial lines down the back. The lizard has a slightly flattened head. The scales of the underside and tail are larger than those of the upper side. The lizard grows to a length of 6 to 10 cm.
The Durango night lizard is a diminutive lizard found in the Mexican state of Durango. It is usually found in niches of agave and yucca plants.
Bezy's night lizard is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is endemic to Arizona.
The wildlife of the Channel Islands of California is wide and diverse, including many endemic species. While the land wildlife is slightly limited, there being only one large, naturally predatory, and native mammal, the small island fox, marine life can include anything from kelp forests to great white sharks.
The bolsón night lizard is a species of night lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species, which was originally described by Robert G. Webb in 1970, is endemic to the state of Durango in Mexico. Not much is known about the lizard at present, as it appears to be simultaneously rare and rather secretive in nature.
Xantusia gilberti, also known commonly as the Baja California night lizard and la nocturna de Baja California in Mexican Spanish, is a species of small lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is native to the southern Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.
Xantusia jaycolei is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is native to Mexico.
Xantusia sanchezi, Sanchez's night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico.
Xantusia wigginsi, Wiggins's desert night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in California and Mexico.
