Surprisingly beautiful Southern Arizona lizards
Readers and Star staffers have shared lizard photos.
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Joseph Olexa took this photo of a lizard along Magee Road near La Canada in 2015.
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Jackie Austin snapped this shot of a baby gecko at about 5 a.m.
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The dance of the Sonoran Titans! - from William Ferguson
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This was on my front walk.
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Devin Johnson took this photo of a horny toad lizard up on Mount Lemmon on 7/22/2015.
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"This Gila monster showed up every spring in our backyard and was very accommodating for a photo op. I shot this with my Canon Rebel xs using 250mm zoom so no danger of being too close. I was able to get several great shots while he continued to hang out." - submitted by Janice Fletcher, July 9, 2015.
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Janice Fletcher took this photo in June 2015 in the Madera foothills area.
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Janice Fletcher submitted this photo.
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The dance of the Sonoran Titans! - from William Ferguson
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Photo sent in by Jonlyn
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One of the bushes at Burger King on St Mary's & I-10 - sent anonymously.
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Chuck Ferrara took this photo of a lizard on the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail in Saguaro National Park-East in March 2015.
Southern Arizona Gila monsters
Chuck Ferrara took this photo of a Gila monster, a poisonous lizard, on the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail in Saguaro National Park-East in March 2015.
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Greater Earless Lizard at Sabino Canyon from Irwin and Jeri Saldinger.
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Irwin and Jeri Saldinger found this lizard in Oro Valley.
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John McGinley photographed this big lizard.
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John McGinley spotted this big lizard.
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Irwin and Jeri Saldinger snapped this photograph at the visitor center at Ramsey Canyon.
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Randall Crowley photographed these two desert spiny lizards in the Tortolita Mountains.
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Irwin and Jeri Saldinger sent this photo of a lizard in Oro Valley.
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Collared lizard taken at Saguaro National Park East from Irwin and Jeri Saldinger.
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Madrean Alligator Lizard photographed in the Catalina Mountains in June 2015. Photographed by Christopher Allison
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Cynthia Jones caught her Round tail horned lizard trying to send a text message on her cell phone. If you have an interesting photo to share, send it to eds@tucson.com
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Ginny Moss Rothwell submitted this photo: "My Desert Spiny Lizard friend I call Marco comes running when I call him and I look forward to his enthusiastic response. He has been a great model for my photographs and an inspiration for my mosaics and artwork."
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This lizard was crawling down the side of one of the trees at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on June 20, 2013.
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Photo shows a giant spotted whiptail lizard. Courtesy of Larry Jones, Coronado National Forest.
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Jim Staples wrote in May 2006: This is a female collard lizard that comes to my back door every day to get fed. I have a pet Gecko lizard that I always have crickets to feed to, so I give some to the collared lizard. I live out by Sabino High School and took it yesterday.
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Loretta Hall of Oro Valley submitted this photo from June 2, 2005: On a hike to the Romero Pools in Catalina State Park, I came across this beautiful lizard sitting on a rock right next to the trail. Apparently, he turns this beautiful color in the Spring for attracting a mate.
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A Greater Earless lizard suns itself on the dirt at the Audubon Mason Center on May 1st, 2008.
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Joel Smith caught this small lizard basking in the sun in the Dragoon Mountains.
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A photo of this desert spiny lizard was taken by Wally Jacobson in July, 2003 as his wife Linda Jacobson hand feed the lizard, which appeared at sunset at her backdoor.
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Karl F. Scholz photographed a two-foot-long lizard on a buckhorn cactus plant in the Tucson Mountains in 2006.
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Dennis Caldwell photographed this Ornate Tree Lizard on wood pile in his backyard in 2009.
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An Ornate Tree Lizard on a brick wall in back yard of Dennis Caldwell in 2008.
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A desert spiny Lizard on a cholla cactus in Dennis Caldwell's backyard in 2008.
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On a warm afternoon in March 2013, this lizard wandered along a branch of the Great Mesquite Tree at the Roy P. Drachman-Agua Caliente Park.
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Ornate tree lizard, which is declining rapidly at Saguaro National Park-East. Submitted October 2010.
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A zebra-tailed lizard. Submitted in October 2010 by Cecil Schwalbe
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Regal horned lizard. Submitted in October 2010 by Cecil Schwalbe.
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Long-tailed brush lizard. Submitted in October 2010 by Cecil Schwalbe.
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A Sonoran spotted whiptail lizard is almost caught by a special noose made of dental floss during the Sonoran Deserts Kids Club's "Leapin' Lizards" presentation at Agua Caliente Regional Park in April 2008.
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This lizard appears to be enjoying the jasmine from his perch on a wall in Judy Moses' yard. Moses took the photo in May 2010. Submitted by Judy Mose.
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A Gila monster scurries off after being released April 25th, 2002 by William B. Hale Jr. who caught the lizard in a neighbors yard and released it unharmed in a desert area nearby. The Gila monster is the only poisonous lizard in Arizona.
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Debbie Angel took this photo in June 2012 and wrote: "My dogs chased a huge lizard up the mesquite tree and he stayed on one of the upper branches for about a half hour while I shot photographs and then he fell to the ground and found his way through the chain-link fence before the dogs could get to him."
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Pat Tiefenbach photographed this foot-long collared lizard in May 2005. She wrote that the lizard sunned himself every morning on the rocks near a waterfall. "It took me days of sneaking around to get close enough to snap this photo without the lizard scrambling for cover."
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Look closely for the lizard that blends into the background of its environment at Tohono Chul Park on May 8, 2015.
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Jane McCutchen took this photo. Anyone know what kind of lizard this is?
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Colossal Cave Mountain Park education coordinator Lauren Hohl holds up a zebra tail lizard during the Reptiles of Southern Arizona informational event at Woods Memorial Library, 3455 N. 1st Ave., on June 25, 2014.
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Colossal Cave Mountain Park education coordinator Lauren Hohl holds up a lesser earless lizard during the Reptiles of Southern Arizona informational event at Woods Memorial Library, 3455 N. 1st Ave., on June 25, 2014.
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A collared lizard basks in the early morning sun light on Blackett's ridge in the Sabino Canyon area on May 15, 1999.
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Star photographer Max Becherer found this lizard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 2003. He was a permanent resident of the cement barricades protecting and the compound where personnel are deployed. The lizard lived under the crevasse of the barrier.
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A lizard is well camouflaged in a woodland along the Carrie Nation Trail in Madera Canyon south of Tucson.
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A lizard finds a perch on a log along the Carrie Nation Trail in Madera Canyon south of Tucson.
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A zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides) perches on a rock near the Signal Hill Picnic Area at the Saguaro National Park, West, The Tucson Mountain District (TMD) in Unincorporated Pima County west of Tucson. Photo taken April 3, 2015.
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Regal horned lizard are among some of the species that are commonly effected by people picking up wildlife, bringing it home, etc. Photo courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department.
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A Desert Spiny Lizard (sceloporus magister ) warms up in the morning sun Wednesday, July 3rd, 2002 on a patio at Tohono Chul Park.
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Handout photo of an eastern collared lizard. Photo courtesy of Larry Jones, Coronado National Forest
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A Spiny we rescued from a bucket after a monsoon rain — he's drying out on my shoulder in the photo.
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Our iguana - Sobe - at the door.
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A colorful Collared Lizard that was seen on a hike in Sabino Canyon - his green back was very eye-catching.
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Horned Toad of some kind, well-camouflaged, from a hike in Madera Canyon.
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Greater Earless Lizard.
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Greater Earless Lizard.
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A Spiny sitting at a plant stand.
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Taken in Vail at the property of the photographer's father, Fernando G. Castillo.
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Desert Spiny Lizard in Palo Verde flower petals at Tohono Chul in May 2012.
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Taken northwest of Tucson on my driveway.
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Madrean Alligator Lizard photographed in the Catalina Mountains in June 2015. Photographed by Christopher Allison
Processed with PICSPLAY
Lizards in the garage
Taken on a driveway northwest of Tucson.
What do they eat?
Gila monsters eat newborn rodents, rabbits and hares, ground nesting birds and lizards, and eggs from birds, snakes and tortoises.
A Gila monster may feed only a few times a year, but one good stuffing can last a whole year. Adults are capable of consuming 35 percent of their body weight in a single feeding.
Lovable lizards
Readers and Star staffers share lizard photoss. Send yours to eds@tucson.com
We love it when readers share their photos. You can upload photos at tucson.com/readers and view the page of reader submissions at tucson.com/contributed
AZ Game and Fish said the first recorded bear sighting of 2018 was in the Sierrita Mountains