San Clemente Night Lizard

About the San Clemente Night Lizard

The island night lizard (Xantusia riversiana) is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is native to three of the Channel Islands of California: San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island, and San Clemente Island. A small population of the island night lizard also lives on Sutil Island, near Santa Barbara Island.

The specific name, riversiana, is in honor of James John Rivers (1824–1913), a London-born physician and naturalist, who was Curator of Natural History at the University of California. The San Clemente Island population is a subspecies which is recognized as being valid.

Xantusia riversiana reticulata H.M. Smith, 1946 – San Clemente night lizard The island night lizard was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the United States since 1977; the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable. In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the administrating agency for the ESA, removed the San Clemente subspecies from the ESA. Better control of munitions-sparked wildfires may have been a reason. In March 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife... Wikipedia →