I posted this in my field herping photos thread but it probably deserves it’s own post. This is a Shasta Alligator Lizard, a subspecies of Northern Alligator Lizards - Elgaria coerulea shastensis Flipped this guy in an old burn area at 4400ft of elevation.
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I really love aligator lizards this one is really beautiful.
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Wow, he looks beautiful and healthy. It’s always nice to see the animals come back to an old burned over area. I remember alligator lizards from my childhood. We never tried to catch or pick them up because kid lore was that they could take chunks out of you with those jaws- (probably only partly true.) I remember giving them plenty of room while admiring their scales.
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This guy was talkative but he didn’t bite down lol. They can do some damage, especially the really big ones but if you move slow and avoid the pointy end they’re usually not too bad to handle.
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Beautiful! I love alligator lizards. I see them pretty frequently around my house and work, though they’re not quite as beautifully coloured as this one!
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We have both Northern and Southern Alligator lizards here. The Northerns here are usually a little more colorful but other places in the state there are some really colorful southerns. These are definitely my favorite sub species though. They’re the only bright green herp we have around here.
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I use to see southern Aligator lizards when i was growing up.
Orange county in the 70s was vastly different than now its almost unrecognizable. There use to be big open fields, heck they even had a wild animal park in Irvine where they had lions and other animals free ranging.
Now OC is all housing and shopping etc. Gone are the vast Orange groves and farms. We really mucked things up for future generations.
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