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(Holbrookia maculata)
Identification: Upper side striped or speckled, with smooth granular scales; external ear openings absent; two black marks on each side of belly; total length up to about 13 cm (5.1 inches); adults average about 5 cm (2 inches) in snout-vent length.
Mature male: Two enlarged scales on underside of tail just behind vent; black, blue-edged bars on belly; may have yellowish wash on sides.
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Mature female: Black bars on belly lack blue
edge; reproductive females during the breeding season have yellow-orange
on throat and on sides of head and neck and orange on sides of
body.
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| Habitat: Sandhills, plains grassland
with a sparse cover of grass and low shrubs, prairie-dog towns, sandy or
gravelly areas along streams, and other relatively flat areas with
expanses of open ground. Uses rodent burrows for cover, or burrows into
sand.
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