| Western fence lizards | |
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| A western fence lizard in Sacramento County, California | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
| Genus: | Sceloporus |
| Species: | S. occidentalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Sceloporus occidentalis | |
The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is a species of lizard native to Arizona, New Mexico, and California, as well as Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Northern Mexico. The species is widely found in its native range and is considered common, often being seen in yards, or as the name implies, on fences. As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly. Two western fence lizards have been reported with duplicated or forked tails, presumably following an autotomy.[2]
- ^ Hollingsworth, B.; Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Sceloporus occidentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64131A12747877.
- ^ Baum, Timothy J.; Kaiser, Hinrich (6 July 2024). "Tail furcations in lizards: a revised summary and the second report of tail duplication in the Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis Baird & Girard, 1852". Herpetology Notes. 17: 459–475. ISSN 2071-5773.