This little Broad-headed Skink (Eumeces laticeps) has had an encounter with a predator, most likely some bird, that has marred her beauty but saved her life. Skinks are fairly small creatures, this one from nose to the base of her tail is 3 to 4 inches. She would normally be invisible in the litter on the floor of the forest where this picture was taken. She was scampering along the handrail of a boardwalk when I happened along. She was kind enough to pose for me and I have a series of photographs from this magical encounter. Most of the skinks I have ever seen were brief glimpses of them scurrying off at high speed. I was very lucky to be able to spend as much time with this tiny creature as I did.

Notice her yellow racing stripes, 2 down each side and her blue tail. Not all skinks are this colorful, many of the ones I have seen are dingy brown or grayish. The skinks as a group have a shiny, almost glass-like quality to their body scales. I suspect that slick, shiny appearance helps keep the dirt and mud from sticking to them.

If you look closely at the picture, you will see that this colorful, little lizard is missing the end of her tail. Many of the smaller lizards have a defense mechanism where a special band of muscles near the end of their tail can constrict when they are attacked and break off the end of the tail. The tail tip will squirm and wiggle.

The skink is betting its life on the wiggling tail tip distracting the predator while it makes a quick exit to safety. The lizard sacrifices a small portion of its tail in exchange for survival. The lizard, if it lives long enough, will regrow the missing tail to its former glory. And that, folks, is the end of my skinky tale.

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My daughter and I were in Caprock Canyons State Park up near Quitaque, Texas and we were treated to a sighting of this beautifully marked Collared Lizard, Crotaphytus collaris, sunning herself on a rock near the Wild Horse trailhead.

This beauty shows the fading breeding coloration that this species attains during the spring. The fact that her throat lacks the leopard spotting means she is female. Notice the black line over the back of her neck by which she earns her common name.

She sat patiently while we took her picture. You can see her ear openings here. Notice how large her jaw muscles are. She earns her meals by pouncing upon smaller lizards and insects, so a strong bite comes in handy.

This specimen was about 10 inches long from nose to tip of her long tail. You can see her long legs and feet are built for running. This member of the Iguanidae family can zip along on two feet when properly motivated. Sometimes people call this species the mountain boomer because of the startling speeds they attain. We were lucky that she was enjoying the sun-warmed rock while we took her picture and got more than an empty frame for you to see.

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For the last three summers, I have been treated to encounters with members of the species Phrynosoma cornutum, the Texas Horned Lizard that are living in the backyard. These delightful creatures help to eat the red harvester ants that we have in several places in the yard. The above image shows an adult in the lawn beginning to puff itself up to appear larger and to extend the thorns on its skin to warn predators that it is a choking hazard.

You can go here and here on this website to read more about my encounters with these creatures.

In this image, you can see that a Common Checkered Skipper has used this little fellow as a landing zone as well as probing him for food.

We love our little spiny friends and watch for them when we mow. They blend so well with the habitat that we often miss them until they move. I was treated this year to seeing one wiggle himself down into loose sand near an anthill so that only his head was visible. All he had to do was wait for unsuspecting ants to walk by. I didn’t have my camera or the time to photograph this one when it happened, much to my regret. However, we look for these little guys every time we go outside and especially when we are working on the lawn. So far, no tragedies. Peaceful coexistence is the rule around our house as much as is possible. Occasionally, we are rewarded with interesting pictures of neighborhood nature.

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I met this snake on a cool October day, he was crossing a local road and was poking along. I was able to get the car stopped and me and my gear into position without spooking this normally skittish snake.

Masticophis flagellum or Coachwhip is normally a snake that will zoom off into cover if approached or threatened. They are one of the fastest snakes in the southern U.S. So, I count myself lucky to have been able to spend as much time with this fellow as I did.

I followed this snake while he navigated down a concrete support for an under the road culvert. He was being very methodical about investigating any opportunity of finding prey. Coachwhips get their names from the way their scales appear like the braided leather pattern seen on whips or crops used to motivate horses. They are long snakes and move so fast that people are many times startled by them.

Here, you can see narrow head and the circular, large pupils typical of this kind of Colubrid snake. Also take note of the slender neck behind the head. This is another character that helps identify these snakes. Coachwhips are known to travel with their heads held up off the ground, allowing them better opportunities to locate prey.

In the last image, you can see the forked tongue that Coachwhips use to pick up scent particle in their environment which helps them find prey. Coachwhips eat insects, lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, and birds eggs. They will climb trees and shrubs in pursuit of a meal. These snakes do not kill their prey with venom or by constriction, instead, they bite hard and pin the prey with loops of their body before swallowing them whole.

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I was in Arkansas, near Hot Springs on a cool morning a few years ago when I was greeted by a scratchy noise in the tree above my head. I looked up to see this brown lizard hanging from the tree bark about 10 feet above me.

We eyed each other while I tried to take its picture before it scampered off and it watched me for any threatening moves. Notice how its long toes are adapted for hanging on to surfaces.

I was treated to an open mouth display which I didn’t perceive as aggression, instead I think the little guy had become overly warm in his sunny spot.

Here my little friend is checking for death from above since he is a tasty morsel on many birds’ diet. The lack of color in the skin of the throat region may mean this little guy is a girl.

Here’s another view of the body and the toes of this arboreal lizard. They spend their lives in trees and shrubs of forested locales all across the southern United States.

Here is a picture of a member of the same species I photographed in Fort Worth some years ago. This is the normal color for this species but they are capable of changing color to the brown form depending on what kind of camouflage they need to blend into the surface they occupy.

The last image shows the gular fold of a male fully extended. Females will not have the reddish colored dewlap. So, I think the brown Anolis in the earlier pictures is female since all of her throat was white.

I enjoy these small lizards whenever I get a chance to see them. The first one I ever saw was in my grandmother’s living room in northern Louisiana. The little fella was living in the Schefflera plant she had in there. They are lively little creatures who inhabit the trees and shrubs and sometimes people keep them for pets. I count myself lucky to have been in the right place at the right time to photograph these two beauties. This is the first time I have ever seen a brown one!

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When we arrived home after a day out in early August 2017, my son called me into the backyard because he had spotted Horned lizards feeding near an anthill. He was doubly excited because he thought he had seen a momma and her babies.

When I got my act together, we were able to find and photograph this little fella. He is parked by a remnant of a Redstem Storksbill that I had mowed recently.

Notice the black eyestripe, it is diagnostic for Phrynosoma cornutum,  the Texas Horned lizard (family Iguanidae). You can see more of these in another post here.

I put this image into the series because it shows our friend in the midst of some dried Bermuda grass stems. Note the size of the stems near its chest area. This will help you gauge the tiny size of the little baby you will see next.

In this image, you can see a young Texas Horned lizard. He is straddling a dried Bermuda grass stem like the one in the previous image. This little guy is not much bigger than a grasshopper.

Here is a closeup from the same image. You can see the beginnings of the black eyestripe characteristic of the species. Notice that all the spikes and horns haven’t reached the adult size. In the hip region you can see a couple of whitish chevrons that are becoming visible. Compare this guy to the images of the adult and you will see that this youngster has a way to go developmentally. Plus, he is about one fifth the size of the adult. He’s going to have to eat a lot of ants to grow all the way up.

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I was out on the patio with our visiting grandpuppy when I noticed this little girl zip across my line of sight. I watched her go near our AC unit and I went to get my camera fully expecting her to be gone by the time I returned. I was happy to get these photos because Prairie Racerunners wait for no one.

Prairie Racerunners, Cnemidophorous sexlineatus sexlineatus, belong to the Teiidae or Whiptail family of lizards. These are long-tailed and longitudinally striped lizards that inhabit the grasslands and deserts of the Southwestern United States. They are daytime active and like to eat insects, spiders, scorpions, and other small animals they find or dig out.

This individual sports the 3 green racing stripes down each side but lacks a seventh green stripe down the center of its back and inside the tan stripe found there. This specimen was about 3.5 inches from nose to vent (basically to base of tail).

We see this species several times per year when it gets warm enough for them to forage. I think they also come to the Air Conditioning condensate drain for water or bugs that go there too. Lots of fun to see, but they scoot out of range really fast.

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In my backyard, I am lucky enough to have a yearly visitor in the form of a Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum. This little fella shows up periodically to eat the red harvester ants that appear in various places in the yard. We let these ants alone because they are usually no problem unless you stand in the middle of their mounds and cause the colony to defend itself. They are part of the local ecosystem and they feed the “horny toads”.

Horned lizards belong to the family Iguandidae which is evident when you look at the shape of the head and muzzle on these guys. There are at least 14 species of horned lizard in the genus Phrynosoma in the US and Canada. Notice the dark stripes radiating from the eye and the two large horns on the back of the head; these are diagnostic for P. cornutum. Also, they have a light stripe down the center of their back which helps identify them at a distance.

Texas Horned lizards have spines all over their body and their body is flattened. The abdomen of this individual was about the diameter of a golf-ball. Their shape and their spininess makes them hard for predators to swallow. W. M. Winton in Copeia No. 36 (10-24-1916) “Habits and Behavior of the Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum, Harlan.I” pp. 81-84, said “When attacked, the lizard puffs itself out into an almost flat shape and tucks the head down, exposing the horns, and waits for the enemy.” Any enemy would be assured of a mouthful of thorns by attempting to eat one on of these “horny toads”. I recently observed this behavior when I was walking through the yard and not paying too close attention. I nearly stepped on one of the little guys and he had assumed this “prickly” defensive posture. We both recovered from our fright and went our separate ways. Not paying adequate attention to your surroundings in my part of the world can lead to rattlesnake bite, so you can understand my use of the term fright for the above. Needless to say, I am more careful.

Because of fire ants, pesticides, and habitat reduction, Texas Horned lizards have become a threatened species and it is illegal to possess, transport, or capture them without a special permit.

I count myself lucky that there seems to be adequate food and habitat for these little guys around our place. They struggle when traveling through the grass of the lawn, but they seem to manage. They prefer more open sandy country with plenty of ants. They are a visual treat when I can see them and I hope they thrive and reproduce. I am glad they haven’t become extinct and that my state is taking steps to make sure they don’t.

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There is an in depth article on Wikipedia that chronicles the life and times of this, the largest species of tortoise in the world.

These pictures were take at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

They have several of these giants to admire.

These two were having a discussion about right of place. The one with  his back to the camera was the bigger fellow and forced the other to move out of reach.

This tortoise was outside the Tortoise building. He was busily prospecting for food.

He appears larger and older than the other two.

Remarkable, long-lived creatures that were nearly driven to extinction by people and animals they imported to the “Insulae de los Galopegos” (Islands of the Tortoises).

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The Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis carolinensis is a relative of the Iguana that lives in the forests of the southern United States. I photographed this little fella on some wire fencing at a park in Fort Worth, Texas.

These lizards live in the tops of trees and on their trunks as well as on shrubbery and other vegetation near them. They feed upon all kinds of insects and spiders and like to pounce on their prey from above. The genus Anolis has over 15 species in it and Anolis carolinensis had its entire genome sequenced in 2011.

Pictured here is a male who has extended his gular fan to warn me to approach no further. These little fellas will press their bodies flat, bob their heads, and flash their gular fans at other lizards or photographers invading their territory. If that doesn’t work, they will attack and try to drive their unwanted guest away. In my case, he chose to flee since I had him beat on size. Females have a gular fan, too. It is one third the size of the males’ and white.

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