this is probably a tree lizard --- they are extremely common in arizona. the males have different throat colorations that indicate how likely they are to fight (orange with a blue spot) or flee (orange with no spot). this dimorphism is caused by differing levels of the hormones testosterone and progesterone.

learn more about tree lizards

a side-blotched lizard! woohoo!

Ammon knows a thing or two about these noble and fascinating creatures. male side-blotched lizards also have distinct throat colorations that correspond to different strategies for defending territory, but what does that have to do with the paper - scissors - rock game? find out by visiting LizardLand.

this male is displaying blue dots typical of mating coloration. his vivid blue was extremely stirking against the red rocks of wupatki. side-blotched lizards are territorial, but they defend relatively small areas. they are vulnerable to predation from housecats and consequently areless common in areas with human settlement.

this is an earless lizard, identified by its unusual jawline and distinctive lack of ears. there are two species of earless lizards, greater and lesser, which are distinguished by stripes under their tails.

it's really hard to infer the actual or relative sizes of lizards from pictures after the fact, so even if there is a size difference between the greater and lesser earless lizard it would be hard to tell which was which in a photo.

note the pronounced black and white stripes on the tail --- this is a zebra lizard. zebra lizards have an interesting 'tail wagging' behavior where they hold their tails up right and flick them back and forth, hightlighting the black and white markings.

it looks like this one has a brightly colored underbelly with black stripes.

zebra lizards are relatively large and very fast. I saw at least six in a small area.

I saw several of this type, it's probably another earless lizard.

unlike the other, more skittish lizards this one stayed put in the middle of the path as I approached. it was very brightly colored.

this is probably yet another earless lizard. the bright colors might be mating coloration.