alligator lizard

American  

noun

1. any of several lizards of the genera Algaria and Gerrhonotus, of western North America, having shinglelike scales and a fold along each side that permits expansion.

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Example Sentences

The Times was curious to see where people were spotting the three most frequently observed lizard species in Southern California, the fence, the common side-blotched lizard and the southern alligator lizard.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025

Exploring exactly how the alligator lizard achieves this feat will probably have to wait until its genome is sequenced, which will make it easier to see what it has that related species don’t.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2022

It’s difficult to believe that anything would want to make a meal of such a venomous arachnid, but in California and other Western states, the alligator lizard snarfs up widows like crunchy black popcorn.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2022

A foot-long alligator lizard skittered in front of me, pausing to pump out a couple of quick pushups before vanishing into the brush.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 19, 2019

There was alligator, lizard skin, pigskin, snakeskin and sealskin; even grained leather was copied.

From The Story of Leather by Bassett, Sara Ware