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[title size=”2″]Fence Lizard[/title]

Though there are many fence lizards in the United States, the species found in the Ozarks is known as the eastern fence lizard. The eastern fence lizard is found throughout the central and southeastern United States and as far north as New York. The eastern fence lizard can be identified by its rough, scaled skin that is brown or gray in color, and it has unique patterning on its back. Females have wavy lines along their back while the males are marked with blue on their underbelly. Like its name suggests, the fence lizard is often seen by humans on fence railings, though their natural habitat includes forest edges and rotting underbrush such as logs or stumps.  They seem to congregate in drier areas of the forest and not necessarily around large water sources. Fence lizards are highly adapted to climbing trees and have an innate instinct to climb to safety when they are approached or startled. They have been observed to climb a tree or object while always remaining on the opposite side of their pursuer. The lizards mate in the spring and can lay between 3 and 16 eggs, with the offspring hatching in the late summer and early fall.  They typically grow to between 4 and 8 inches long. The eastern fence lizard is a carnivore and consumes insects, spiders, and other invertebrates.

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Sceloporus undulates

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