The Flickr Desertreptile Image Generatr

This stunning close-up captures a Namib Sand Gecko, a tiny yet resilient desert dweller of Namibia’s dunes. Its translucent skin, striking eyes, and perfect adaptation to the arid environment make it a fascinating subject of nature photography.

Shallow Depth of Field

Revising favorite childhood haunts - I had a few weeks back in Arizona and this album covers images from that visit and a visit to Puerto Penasco, Mexico where we were delighted with an ultra rare show of northern lights.

Learn more about my photography at alex-berger.com and find my writing at virtualwayfarer.com.

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I was nearly as excited to spot this spectacular lizard as I am when I spot a moose. For those who know me best, they know that's pretty excited. Any wildlife species I see for the first time has that effect on me.

This is a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard. The species is fairly common throughout arid and semi-arid areas of Southwestern U.S. and Mexico. We found this one in the scrubby high desert near Page, Arizona.

The catch light is a bonus for me. A rarity in my lizard photography experience.

Another reptile encountered during our Arizona trip is this Chuckwalla. Like other lizards, Chuckwallas are never far from a good hiding spot. When this guy/gal spotted us coming down the trail, it slipped deep into the rock crevice you can see below it.

These lizards remind me of marmots in one aspect of their behavior. They'll hide when first seeing people approach, but then they'll cautiously emerge and watch us with a seeming mix of caution and curiosity. That's what this one did.

I enjoy finding and photographing reptiles and amphibians but the last few years, I haven't been in the right places at the right times to find very many of them. So I have a few oldies to share in a new series, starting with this one.

We found this Sagebrush Lizard eight years ago during a trip through southern Utah.

Another oldie selected randomly from my photo collection. This handsome Collared Lizard was photographed in Colorado National Monument.

My reptile photo inventory is running a little low, but I found this one worth posting. Found this colorful specimen soaking up some rays near in Canyonlands National Park, Utah.

Another desert dweller, third in the series.
From Wikipedia:
"The Great Basin collared lizard is endemic to the Western United States, and is found in California, most of Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and the western regions of Utah and Arizona. It is usually found in rocky regions of arid deserts, and is most common in desert scrub and desert wash habitats. It is widely distributed throughout the Mojave, Sonoran, and southeastern Great Basin deserts."
This little guy was blending in nicely to his habitat near Lees Ferry, AZ.

Folks that follow my photo stream might have noticed that I've posted quite a few Chuckwalla pics. One of the reasons I find them fascinating is their seemingly endless color and pattern variations. An example of that can be seen comparing yesterday's post with this one. Even the two in the previous post are as different as night and day...get it? One very dark and the other very light. Perhaps that's a male female thing. And for sure they change as they age. But that doesn't begin to explain the vast differences I've observed and photographed.
When I first started encountering Chuckwallas I though I was seeing completely different species due to each one looking so different from others I had seen.
This one was spotted not far from the ones in my post yesterday in Northern Arizona. So much for regional differences...

These two Chuckwallas seem to be sharing a tender moment. First time I've seen something like this in the reptile world.
I know better than to anthropomorphize. But sometimes I wonder...
Found among the red rocks near Page, AZ.

It's been quite a while since I've added to my reptile/amphibian album. Thought I would rectify that today.
This colorful guy was found in northern Arizona.

One of the things I like about this species is the endless color variations. That seems to be partly determined by geography and localized habitat. This one blends in nicely as many of them do. The swirl in the rock background is actually part of an ancestral Puebloan petroglyph.

Drying things out a bit from my recent wetlands themed posts. The Common Side-blotched Lizard is one of the most abundant in the deserts of North America. This one was hanging out in the Marble Canyon area of Northern Arizona.

I'm not sure, but I think this is a male and female chuckwalla, perhaps a mating pair. The male has a rusty torso and cream colored tail. We found them near Gila Bend, AZ.

From the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) website:
Sauromalus ater, the common chuckwalla, inhabits deserts in the western United States and Mexico and 30 known islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, the Mojave and Sonoran deserts are known to have thriving populations of chuckwallas. They can be found as far west as southeastern California and Nevada, and are abundant in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and parts of Colorado.
Common chuckwallas are found in deserts, where the air is hot and dry (9 to 45 degrees Celsius).
They are found in deserts with rocks and crevices for hiding, such as areas of past lava flows, rocky hillsides, and outcrops. They use underground burrows and crevices for hibernation in the winter. They inhabit island and coastal environments. These lizards require a moderate amount of vegetation and foliage in the habitat in order to sustain themselves. Common chuckwallas can be found between sea level and 1400 m elevation.
We found this one in the Alabama Hills, California.

Had to get a close up of such an engaging face. View the eye as large as you can, it looks like a human eye which I've never seen with a turtle before. Learned much when researching. The sharp hard top front part of the mouth is called a beak and the long things coming down from it are tooth like and called tomiodonts. The size and length here of the tomiodonts shows that it is a male that is quite old.
Male African Spurred Tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata)
Cathy's Critters
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

Last week my friend Tracey & I took a baby squirrel to a rehabber. When we arrived that evening, we found a rural area that had large enclosures full of rescued and rehabbed critters from all over the world. A truly awesome place called Cathy's Critters. I only got a few shots as it was fast getting dark. This huge turtle caught my eye. I had never seen an African spurred tortoise before. Also known as a sulcata. They are native to the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in Africa. They are the third-largest species of tortoise in the world.
African Spurred Tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata)
Cathy's Critters
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

Always nice when a subject poses nicely. Found near Page, Arizona.

Near Page, Arizona