California Lizards and How to Find Them

Emily Taylor

$51.95 $47.02

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Heyday Books
30 July 2025

Reference works; Conservation of the environment; Wildlife: general interest; Wildlife: reptiles & amphibians; The Earth: natural history general

The author of California Snakes and How to Find Them invites budding reptile enthusiasts into a wonderland of lizards.

Lizards: they are cute, endearing, and mind-bogglingly diverse, and yet they are so easy to overlook among California's natural abundance. Start watching them, though, and a wonderland of lizard life appears. In California Lizards and How to Find Them, lizard lover Emily Taylor profiles over 60 native and introduced species, from California's iconic Western Fence Lizard to the adorable Desert Iguana to the chonky Ringed Wall Gecko. With her expert knowledge and joyous, laugh-out-loud writing, Taylor provides tips for finding, watching, and responsibly catching lizards. She offers absorbing insights on lizard evolution, and she explains the toll of invasive lizard species on California's ecosystems. Featuring more than 100 full-color photographs, and designed for easy use in everyday life, this is the ideal guide for budding reptile enthusiasts and longtime naturalists alike.

By: Emily Taylor
Imprint: Heyday Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 177mm, Width: 127mm,
ISBN: 9781597146715
ISBN 10: 1597146714
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 30 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

"Preface Introduction Lizards in Wonderland: Why California Has So Many Lizards What are Lizards? A Tale of Two Lizards How to Find and Watch Lizards in California Catching Lizards: A Cautionary ""Tail"" Family Anguidae Northern Alligator Lizard Southern Alligator Lizard Panamint Alligator Lizard Family Anniellidae Legless Lizards Family Chamaeleonidae Jackson’s Chameleon Family Crotaphytidae Great Basin Collared Lizard Baja California Collared Lizard Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard Long-nosed and Cope’s Leopard Lizards Family Dactyloidae Green Anole Brown Anole Family Eublepharidae Switak’s Banded Gecko Western Banded Gecko Family Gekkonidae Rough-tailed Bowfoot Gecko House Geckos Family Helodermatidae Gila Monster Family Iguanidae Desert Iguana Common Chuckwalla Family Lacertidae Italian Wall Lizard Family Phrynosomatidae Zebra-tailed Lizard Banded Rock Lizard Coast Horned Lizard Pygmy Short-horned Lizard Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Desert Horned Lizard Common Sagebrush Lizard Desert Spiny Lizard Fence Lizards Granite Spiny Lizard Fringe-toed Lizards Brush Lizards Ornate Tree Lizard Common Side-blotched Lizard Family Phyllodactylidae Peninsula Leaf-toed Gecko Wall Geckos Family Scincidae Ocellated Skink Gilbert’s Skink Western Skink Family Teiidae Orange-throated Whiptail Non-native Whiptails Western Whiptail Family Xantusiidae Sandstone and Granite Night Lizards Island Night Lizard Desert Night Lizard and Relatives Acknowledgments Recommended Further Reading About the Author"

Emily Taylor is a professor of biological sciences at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where she conducts research on the physiology, ecology, and conservation biology of lizards and snakes. Taylor is founder of the community science initiative Project RattleCam (rattlecam.org) and owner of Central Coast Snake Services (centralcoastsnakeservices.com). Her first book, California Snakes and How to Find Them, was published by Heyday in 2024. She lives in Atascadero with her husband, Steve, and their menagerie of rescue animals, including Pax the dog, Baby the boa constrictor, Aperol Spritz the bearded dragon, and rattlesnakes Buzz and Snakeholio. Follow her at @snakeymama.

Reviews for California Lizards and How to Find Them

"Praise for California Snakes and How to Find Them by Emily Taylor (2024): ""I've loved snakes since childhood and am thrilled to now have this gorgeous book as my companion to finding snakes wherever a walk on the wild side takes me."" —Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles ""For anyone who loves snakes, or who wants to love them, Emily Taylor's California Snakes and How to Find Them is packed with facts in reader- friendly prose by one of the world’s leading snake biologists and conservationists. The utility and emotional impact of this book are further enhanced by some of the most evocative photographs of snakes I've ever seen, spanning technically perfect closeups of heads to stunning images of individuals in their species-typical habitats. California Snakes sets a new high bar for nature education, and I look forward to future volumes about other animal groups."" —Harry W. Greene, author of Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature and Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art ""Emily Taylor's enthusiasm and love for snakes shine through every sentence of California Snakes and How to Find Them. Her engaging personal stories, authoritative information, and spectacular photographs will charm snake-lovers and future snake-lovers alike. See you in the field, armed with persistence, luck, and knowledge. Happy herping!"" —Marty Crump, author of Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard’s Leg: The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles"