Common Collared Lizard facts🦎 Eastern Collared Lizard 🦎 Oklahoma Collared Lizard 🦎 North 🇺🇸

Common Collared Lizard
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The common collared lizard, also commonly called eastern collared lizard, Oklahoma collared lizard, yellow-headed collared lizard, and collared lizard, is a North American species of lizard in the family Crotaphytidae. The common name "collared lizard" comes from the lizard's distinct coloration, which includes bands of black around the neck and shoulders that look like a collar. Males can be very colorful, with blue green bodies, yellow stripes on the tail and back, and yellow orange throats. There are five recognized subspecies.
Males have a blue-green body with a light brown head. Females have a light brown head and body. It exhibits a wide range of physical characteristics, particularly in coloration and spotting patterns, and this phenotypic variability may be attributed to a combination of differences in population, social organizations, or habitat. They are a sexually dichromatic lizard species with the adult males being more vivid and colorful than the females. Male dorsal and head color tend to range from green to tan and yellow to orange respectively, while females, overall, possess more muted body pigmentations, varying from brown to gray.
As obligate carnivores, they consume insects and small vertebrates as their main diet. They are diurnal; they are active during the day, and spend most of their time basking on top of elevated rocks or boulders. As a highly territorial species, they remain hyper-vigilant, scanning for predators or intruders, ready to sprint or fight when necessary. Generally, males are more active than females, as the former engage in more chase, fight, display, and courtship behaviors while the latter exhibit basking and foraging behaviors.