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Sandstone night lizard
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Xantusiidae
Genus:	Xantusia
Species:	X. gracilis
Binomial name
Xantusia gracilis Grismer & Galvan, 1986

The sandstone night lizard (Xantusia gracilis) is a species of night lizard. Prior to 2005, it was considered a subspecies of the granite night lizard, Xantusia henshawi. The physical difference is that the sandstone night lizard has lighter coloration.

Range

The sandstone night lizard is extremely limited geographically; it is known only to the Truckhaven Rocks in the Colorado Desert, at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County, California.

Description

The lizard is very secretive using small burrows and sandstone or siltstone for cover. The specific name, gracilis, is derived from Latin meaning "slender", referring to the species' slender habitus.

References

This article is based on a description from the website of California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System https://web.archive.org/web/20060805132729/http://www.dfg.ca.gov/whdab/html/reptiles.html

1. G. A. Hammerson (2007). "Xantusia gracilis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007. IUCN: e.T64365A12774167. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64365A12774167.en. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
2. Lovich, Robert E., and L. Lee Grismer. "Xantusia gracilis." (2003).

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• v
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• IUCN Red List vulnerable species
• Xantusia
• Endemic fauna of California
• Fauna of the Colorado Desert
• Natural history of San Diego County, California
• Reptiles described in 1986
• Taxa named by Larry Lee Grismer
• Lizard stubs