Bezy's night lizard

Bezy's night lizard (Xantusia bezyi) is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is endemic to Arizona.[3]

Bezy's night lizard
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Xantusiidae
Genus: Xantusia
Species:
X. bezyi
Binomial name
Xantusia bezyi
Papenfuss, Macey & Schulte, 2001
Bezy's night lizard range[2]

Etymology

Bezy's night lizard is named after noted American herpetologist Robert Lee Bezy (born 1941).[4]

Geographic range

X. bezyi is found in central Arizona.[3]

Description

Small, smooth-skinned, and gray-brown to yellow-brown, X. bezyi measures 1.5 to 2.75 inches (38 to 70 mm) from its nose to its vent. It has a flattened head, and dark splotches on its back. The eyes lack eyelids and have vertical, linear pupils.[3]

Habitat

Desert highlands and pine woodlands are the preferred habitats of X. bezyi,[3] where it is found under exfoliating rock in granite outcrops.[1]

Diet

The diet of X. bezyi consists of spiders and insects.[3]

Behavior

During daylight hours X. bezyi shelters in rock crevices.[3]

Reproduction

X. bezyi is viviparous.[5]

References
  1. Hammerson GA (2007). "Xantusia bezyi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2007: e.T64362A12773918. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64362A12773918.en.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey (2017). "Bezy's Night Lizard (Xantusia bezyi) rBNLIx_CONUS_2001v1 Range Map". Gap Analysis Project. doi:10.5066/F7ZG6R7N.
  3. "Reptiles of Arizona". AZ PARC. 2006.
  4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Xantusia bezyi, p. 25).
  5. Species Xantusia bezyi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading
  • Goldberg, Stephen R.; Bezy, Robert L. (2014). "Xantusia bezyi (Bezy's night lizard) reproduction". Herpetological Review 45 (3): 509.
  • Papenfuss, Theodore J., Macey, J. Robert; Schulte, James A. II (2001). "A New Lizard Species in the Genus Xantusia from Arizona". Scientific Papers, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas (23): 1–9. (Xantusia bezyi, new species).



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