The lizards can be seen at the zoo’s Oklahoma Trails habitat, which is home to a variety of animals native to the state.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden announced that it has received 12 collared lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) to captive breeding collection. The lizards can be seen at the zoo’s Oklahoma Trails habitat, which is home to a variety of animals native to the state.
“Collared lizards are a fascinating species with unique adaptations,” OKC Zoo’s Curator of Herpetology and Aquatics, Seamus Ehrhard said in a press release put out by the zoo. “We are thrilled to provide them with a space where they can thrive while educating our guests about native wildlife.”
The collared lizard was named the official state reptile of Oklahoma in 1969. The zoo has an established breeding program for the species and provides collared lizard offspring to other zoos that are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This is in an effort to ensure survival of the species.
There are five subspecies: These include:
- Crotaphytus collaris auriceps – yellow-headed collared lizard
- Crotaphytus collaris baileyi -western collared lizard
- Crotaphytus collaris collaris – eastern collared lizard
- Crotaphytus collaris fuscus – Chihuahuan collared lizard
- Crotaphytus collaris melanomaculatus – black-spotted collared lizard
Collared Lizard Information
Common collared lizards are also called eastern collared lizard, Oklahoma collared lizard, yellow-headed collared lizard, and just plain collared lizard. it is named as such due to the black bands that feature prominently around the neck and shoulders that look like a collar. They are a moderately large lizard, growing up to 15 inches in length, including the tail. Adult males are more colorful than the females except during breeding season when the females grow brighter in coloration, especially the dull orange spots on their heads. These lizards are also capable of running on their hind legs and can run fairly fast.
They reside in dry climates and can be found in many states in the Southwestern united States, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. They are also found in Mexico. Primarily insectivorous, the collared lizards eats crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, moths, beetles, and cicadas. They are also known to eat smaller lizards and snakes.
