Endemic to California, the Coast Range fence lizard, commonly called the Blue-bellied lizard, is a subspecies of Sceloporus occidentalis, the Western fence lizard. It is found in California from Sonoma County south to Santa Barbara County. The genus name Sceloporus is from the Greek skelos, meaning “leg” and porus, meaning “pores” in reference to the femoral pores located along the underside of the leg in this species. The species name occidentalis refers to their western distribution. Coast Range Fence Lizards may be brown, grey, or near black with a blotched pattern across the dorsal scales. Their overall coloration provides good camouflage.
