Quick -- think of a wild animal.  What was the first thing that came to mind?  Most likely something like an elk, a bear, or even a wolf popped into your head.  Chances are, you didn’t suddenly think of a marmot or a lizard.  We tend to focus on big, spectacular animals while we overlook the thousands of small  animals that live all around us. 

One of these overlooked animals is the sagebrush lizard.  It is the most common lizard on the INL and one of the most common vertebrates, of any kind, on the Site.

Sagebrush lizards are not only common on the INL, but can be found throughout most of the western United States.

Although they are common, sagebrush lizards can be hard to spot, and for good reason.  First of all, the sagebrush lizard is small -- only about 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, not including the tail.  Females have white or yellow bellies; while males, especially breeding males, have bright blue patches on their bellies.  These colorful patches attract breeding females, like brightly colored feathers on male birds.  When seen from the underside, an adult male truly stands out in the desert.  However, sagebrush lizards are generally drab and well-camouflaged.  They are gray, brown, and cream, with dark and light stripes running down their backs. 

A sagebrush lizard can live for four or more years, which is relatively long for a lizard.  This  is an adaptation to unpredictable environments, such as the sagebrush desert of the INL, where there is less consistency in the survival of young from year to year than in areas with more predictable environments.  Adults that simply breed once then die have less chance of producing viable offspring than adults who live to breed over several years.  Sagebrush lizards commonly survive through three or more breeding seasons, which improves their chances of reproducing successfully. 

Sagebrush lizards serve as an important prey item for many small- and medium-sized predators, such as rattlesnakes and badgers; and, in turn, feed on insects, especially ants.  They play an active role in the web of life.  Although we humans largely ignore such creatures, they are an abundant, and important, part of life on the high desert of the INL.