SILVERY LEGLESS LIZARD
Anniella pulchra – Gray 1852
Anniella pulchra pulchra – Gray 1852
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
Anniella pulchra is found throughout northwestern Baja California from the US border south to at least Arroyo Pabellon, about 17 kms south of San Quintin (Hunt 1983). It occurs on both the desert (I. E. La Rumorosa) and pacific slopes of the Sierra Juarez, but is not yet known from the desert slopes of the Sierra San Pedro Martir. It is found on the Pacific islands of Coronado (Norte and Sur), and Todos Santos (Sur). Elevational distribution from sea level to around 1,200 meters.
HABITAT:
Anniella pulchra is found in a wide variety of habitats, although sandy or loamy soil is always present. It may be found in beach dunes, coastal chaparral, inland chaparral, oak forest and high desert; it is likely that it is also found along arroyos much lower on the desert slope of the Sierra Juarez and Paso de San Matias than currently known. These lizards are usually found beneath surface objects such as trash, rocks and dead vegetation. They are also found crossing roads at night during periods of warm weather.
Coastal Dune habitat, Baja California, Mexico
NATURAL HISTORY:
Like A. geronimensis, this lizard is viviparous and insectivorous. Gravid females have been found to contain one or two embryos; birthing occurs in late summer and fall. Both species of Anniella occur together in the dunes near Colonia Guerrero, but geronimensis is far more abundant there.
TAXONOMY:
Anniella belongs to the Family Anguidae. The taxonomy of A. pulchra is under review; populations from Baja California and southern California are likely going to be described as a seperate species.
TYPE:
Described as Anniella pulchra by J. E. Gray (1852). Neotype: MVZ 64656. Type locality: 0.8 km southeast of Pinnacles National Monument, San Benito County, California.
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have seen this species in California, but never in Mexico. In California, I found the subspecies nigra to be common in the dunes of Monterrey Bay on rainy early spring days. I have never had luck finding Anniella in the dunes during warm weather; cold or rainy weather has always been my favorite “digging” weather. In 1996 I assisted in a pit-fall trap project near the Mexico border in San Diego County and we found two A. pulchra in the buckets one spring morning; this was quite unexpected as the soil on this chaparral hillside was quite hard-packed and seemed inhospitable to these lizards.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
The state of California considers this species to be one of Special Concern; in Baja California this species is quite common and widespread and is probably not in need of special protection.
REFERENCES:
Gray, J. E. 1852. Description of several new genera of reptiles, principally from the collection of the H. M. S. Herald. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 10:437-440.
Hunt, L. E. 1983. A nomenclatural rearangement of the genus Anniella (Sauria: Anniellidae). Copeia 1983:79-89.
Shaw, C. E. 1953. Anniella pulchra and Anniella geronimensis, sympatric species. Herpetologica 8:167-170.