Anyone wanna guess the id?

[noah]

Hi there,

I'm not a big herp fan but I took a picture recently and wanted to see if anyone wanted to try their hand at ID'ing these two specimens

I'll post pics of the whole specimens later, after the correct answer is found. Have fun!

-noah

 

[lithopsman]

It's either an american alligator, a saltwater croc, or an alligator skink, depending on where the photo was taken... NOW THAT"S OBSESSED!!!

 

[noah]

Well, I guess they are alligator skinks, though around here they are known as alligator lizards. The pic was taken in my front yard in souther california.

Notice the vastly different coloring of the two specimens. Is this a result of natural variation or is it gender based?

Here is a pic of the heads. They were playing some kind of aggressive courting game.

-noah

 

[Pyro]

Noah,

I believe that the colour is just natural variation and from the looks of it that is a pretty typical mating (the male doesn't want the female to get away.) Nice lookin' critters though

 

[lithopsman]

that's a semi-lucky find, as their numbers have been declining...

That is typical courtship behavior, colors are also natural

*jealous*

 

[noah]

Yeah, I've noticed these guys are rather rare... definetally compared to the common lizards, which there are always hundreds of which in my yard. The coloration of the female is knew to me though...

-noah

 

[lithopsman]

the top is the typical coloration, but the bottom really is weird!

I dunno what that's about, you may want to email it toreptilesmagazine@fancypubs.com Or go to reptilesmagazine.com and look it up!

 

[cephalotus88]

looks fairly typical for alligator lizards. The coloration is quite vivid. Looks alot like the ones I find everywhere in Santa Cruz.

 

[lithopsman]

Sorry, I have only seen in Reptiles magazine, never in person, don't live close...

 

[Guest]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (cephalotus88 @ Mar. 30 2003,11:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">looks fairly typical for alligator lizards. The coloration is quite vivid. Looks alot like the ones I find everywhere in Santa Cruz.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
yeah, they look exactly like noahs... they are probably western alligator lizards or california alligator lizards, not aligator skinks

 

[Spectabilis73]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (cephalotus88 @ Mar. 30 2003,2:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">looks fairly typical for alligator lizards. The coloration is quite vivid. Looks alot like the ones I find everywhere in Santa Cruz.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
yeah, they look exactly like noahs... they are probably western alligator lizards or california alligator lizards, not aligator skinks

 

[theironmonkey]

the most beautiful souther alligtor lizards (california alligator lizard) ive ever seen were found in monteray california. absolutely gorgeous reds and oranges and browns!! beautiful!!