Island Night Lizard
Encyclopedia
The Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana) is a night lizard
native to three of the Channel Islands of California
: San Nicolas Island
, Santa Barbara Island
and San Clemente Island
. The San Clemente community is a recognized subspecies, the San Clemente Night Lizard, or Xantusia riversiana reticulata. The Island Night Lizard was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act
in the United States since 1977; the IUCN lists the species as vulnerable. In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the administrating agency for the ESA, removed the San Clemente subspecies from the ESA. Better control of the munitions-sparked wildlifes may have been a reason.
This lizard's preferred habitat is coastal scrub made up of dense boxthorn and cacti thickets. Like other night lizard
s, it bears live young rather than laying eggs. The island lizards are much larger than their cousins in the genus, the desert night lizard
s (Xantusia vigilis) of southern California.
Night lizard
Night lizards are a group of very small, viviparous lizards, averaging from less than 4 cm to over 12 cm long. The family has only three genera, with approximately 23 living species...
native to three of the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
: San Nicolas Island
San Nicolas Island
San Nicolas Island is the most remote of California's Channel Islands. It is part of Ventura County. The 14,562 acre island is currently controlled by the United States Navy and is used as a weapons testing and training facility, served by Naval Outlying Field San Nicolas Island...
, Santa Barbara Island
Santa Barbara Island
Santa Barbara Island is a small island of the Channel Islands archipelago in California. It is located about off the Southern California coast from the Palos Verdes Peninsula, near Los Angeles in Ventura County, California....
and San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
. The San Clemente community is a recognized subspecies, the San Clemente Night Lizard, or Xantusia riversiana reticulata. The Island Night Lizard was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
in the United States since 1977; the IUCN lists the species as vulnerable. In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the administrating agency for the ESA, removed the San Clemente subspecies from the ESA. Better control of the munitions-sparked wildlifes may have been a reason.
This lizard's preferred habitat is coastal scrub made up of dense boxthorn and cacti thickets. Like other night lizard
Night lizard
Night lizards are a group of very small, viviparous lizards, averaging from less than 4 cm to over 12 cm long. The family has only three genera, with approximately 23 living species...
s, it bears live young rather than laying eggs. The island lizards are much larger than their cousins in the genus, the desert night lizard
Desert night lizard
The Desert Night Lizard Xantusia vigilis is a night lizard native to southern California east of the Sierras and San Gabriel Mountains into Baja California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and extreme western Arizona....
s (Xantusia vigilis) of southern California.