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AB O UT T H I S B O O K / A B O UT LI Z AR D S 21
best available science from someone intimately familiar with the subject matter. Each author of a species account was asked to synthesize what is known in 1,000 words or less. The accounts were also peer-reviewed. Because there are so few books devoted to lizards, we did not stop at just having species accounts and photographs. We included sections on anatomy and identification, habitats, life and natural history and behavior, taxonomy and nomenclature, non-native species, environmental ethics, management, conservation, laws, and lizards in captivity—plus information for people who want to go lizard-watching. We collected hundreds of color photographs in the book to aid in identifying lizards and their habitats. Whenever possible, we tried to obtain photographs of males, females, and juveniles, as well as some of the normal variation encountered in nature. Photographs of some species are shown for the first time in any publication (or at least tied to their current common and scientific names). And finally, we wanted to help the reader know how, where, and when to look for lizards—and of course, how to identify them, especially through binoculars. Lizards are largely an “untapped market” among ecotourists, but they are truly fascinating creatures and eminently watchable; this is obvious when one notices the number of people on nature hikes taking note of lizards, or at lizard displays. As a group, lizards tend to be common, widespread, diurnal, predictable, and readily observable with close-focus binoculars, and they have fascinating behavioral traits that are easily observed. We hope all readers will benefit from the text and photographs and gain a better understanding and appreciation of the lizards of the American Southwest. Not only are they fun to look at, but they play important roles in the ecology of the region and have become portals to the world of science and nature!
AB OUT LI Z AR DS Authors: Robert E. Lovich and Lawrence L. C. Jones Most people living in the American Southwest are familiar with their scaly neighbors, the lizards. For the most part, these vertebrates are small, four-legged, long-tailed, scaly reptiles that are active during the daytime, but there are notable exceptions. Some are large like the Common Chuckwalla, Gila Monster, and Desert Iguana. Some even have only two legs and live underground, like the Five-toed Worm Lizard found south of the Mexico border in Baja California. Indeed, some lizards lack legs altogether (including one of our native species), which renders them similar in appearance to their relatives, the snakes.