Description: A moderately large (total length: 30 - 40 cm [12 - 15 in.])
lizard with a large head, and long tapered tail. The dorsal coloration is
cream or tan with large, dark, gray-brown blotches (leopard spots), and the
chin has rows of gray stripes. Females are generally larger than males.
During the breeding season, females develop orange-red spots and bars on
the body and tail. These lizards are fast and can run on their hind legs to
capture prey or escape predators.
Diet: Omnivorous. Feeds on lizards, rodents, crickets, grasshoppers,
other insects, and plants (e.g., Lycium berries, small leaves, and flowers).
Habitat: Primarily Mojave desert scrub and salt desert scrub; also found in
blackbrush, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper habitats. Found on hardpan,
gravelly, or sandy open ground below 1,800 m (6,000 ft) elevation where
vegetation is sparse or in small clumps.
Range: As a species, the long-nosed leopard lizard (G. wislizenii) is widely
distributed throughout the southwestern U.S. from Oregon to Texas and southinto Mexico. Our subspecies occurs throughout most of this geographic range except for the Central Valley of California where the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard (G. silus) occurs, and where the small-spotted leopard lizard (G. w. punctatus) occurs in southeastern Utah, north-northeastern Arizona, and the northwestern corner of New Mexico.