NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Arizona Night Lizard
Xantusia arizonae Klauber, 1931
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Arizona night lizard (Xantusia arizonae) is a species of small smooth-skinned gray-brown lizards with dark spots that sometimes form partial lines down the back. The lizard has a slightly flattened head. The scales of the underside and tail are larger than those of the upper side. The lizard grows to a length of 6 to 10 cm (2.4 to 3.9 in).
Despite its name, the Arizona night lizard is primarily active during the day. The lizard's range extends across west-central Arizona. It is usually found in rock crevices or under plant debris. Its diet consists of insects and spiders. The young of the lizard are born live, usually one or two around August or September. As the lizard tends not to move about and generally avoids humans, not much is known about it.
Wikipedia contributors, Arizona night lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:55:19.023898+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xantusia arizonae Klauber, 1931
- Name authority
- Klauber, 1931
- Common name
- Arizona Night Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Xantusiidae
- Genus
- Xantusia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyXantusiidae
- subfamilyXantusiinae
- genusXantusia
- speciesXantusia arizonae Klauber, 1931
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Xantusia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bolson Night LizardXantusia bolsonae Webb, 1970 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baja California Night LizardXantusia gilberti Van Denburgh, 1895 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sandstone Night LizardXantusia gracilis Grismer & Galvan, 1986 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Granite Night LizardXantusia henshawi Stejneger, 1893 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xantusia jaycolei Bezy, Bezy & Bolles, 2008 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Island Night LizardXantusia riversiana Cope, 1883 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sanchez's Night LizardXantusia sanchezi Bezy & Flores-Villela, 1999 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xantusia sherbrookei Bezy, Bezy & Bolles, 2008 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Desert Night LizardXantusia vigilis Baird, 1859 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bezy's Night LizardXantusia bezyi Papenfuss, Macey & Schulte, 2001 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Durangoan Night LizardXantusia extorris Webb, 1965 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wiggins' Desert Night LizardXantusia wigginsi Savage, 1952 | XantusiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Xantusia&species=arizonae Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5C8NW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.