About Coleonyx variegatus (Baird, 1858)
Coleonyx variegatus, commonly known as the western banded gecko, is a terrestrial lizard. Adults measure 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) in total length including the tail, and the body excluding the tail rarely exceeds 3 inches long. Newly hatched hatchlings measure around 1 inch (2.5 cm). Its body is sandy-colored with dark crossbands broken into patches. Tiny scales give its skin a distinctly silky texture. Unlike most typical geckos, it has prominent eyes with movable eyelids. Males of this species have noticeable spurs on both sides of the body at the base of the tail.
In the United States, this species occurs in Arizona, southern California, southwestern New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah; within California, it lives in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. In Mexico, it is found in northwestern Baja California and Sonora.
The western banded gecko occupies a wide range of habitats. These include creosote bush and sagebrush desert, pinyon-juniper woodland, and catclaw-cedar-grama grass associations in the eastern portion of its range, and chaparral areas in the western portion. Its elevational range extends from below sea level to approximately 1,520 m (4,990 ft) above sea level. It most commonly lives in open arid deserts and grasslands, and can be found on substrates ranging from rocky sheltered areas to sandy dunes and arroyos.
Western banded geckos breed in April and May. From May through September, females lay one to three clutches of eggs, with each clutch containing exactly two eggs. Eggs hatch approximately 45 days after being laid.
