Reptiles
Texas Alligator Lizard
Gerrhonotus infernalis · also called Texas alligator lizards
A Texas alligator lizard slips beneath a slab of Hill Country limestone, its rows of stiff, armour-like scales catching the light, the largest member of an alligator lizard family that stretches all the way to the Pacific coast.
Overview
The Texas alligator lizard, Gerrhonotus infernalis, is the largest alligator lizard species in North America, native to rocky forest and grassland habitat across central and southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Its impressive size, armoured scaling, and tolerance for suburban Hill Country landscapes make it one of the more distinctive and adaptable lizards of central Texas.
The biggest of the alligator lizards
While its northern and southern relatives patrol cooler Pacific coast habitat, the Texas alligator lizard rules the rocky limestone terrain of the Hill Country as the largest and, in its own quiet way, most imposing member of the entire alligator lizard group.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable rocky habitat throughout central and southern Texas and northeastern Mexico.
Texas Alligator Lizard: common questions
How big does a Texas alligator lizard get compared to other alligator lizards?
The Texas alligator lizard is the largest species in the alligator lizard group, reaching a greater overall length than the northern or southern alligator lizard found farther west, and it also belongs to a different genus, Gerrhonotus, rather than the Elgaria genus that contains those two western relatives.
Does the Texas alligator lizard lay eggs?
No, the Texas alligator lizard gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs, a reproductive strategy shared with several other members of the alligator lizard group and useful in the variable temperatures of its rocky Hill Country habitat.
Is the Texas alligator lizard dangerous?
No, despite its armoured, alligator-like appearance, the Texas alligator lizard is harmless to people, feeding on insects, spiders, snails, and the occasional small lizard, and it generally prefers to flee or drop its tail rather than bite when threatened.
Can a Texas alligator lizard be found in cities?
Yes, this species tolerates suburban and urban landscaping reasonably well within its Hill Country range, and it is not unusual to encounter one sheltering under debris or rocks in yards and gardens around Austin and San Antonio, Texas.