Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Crotaphytus collaris collaris
Eastern Collared Lizard

Washington Co., Missouri
Spring 1976

As a boy in Missouri, Paul Anderson's Reptiles of Missouri was one of the few books available to me in the school library, and I spent many hours poring over it.  One of the most intriguing species listed was the Eastern Collared Lizard, with an isolated population about eighty miles away from my home.  I eventually visited the area, thanks to Don Keutzer, my high school science teacher, and we were able to capture and examine several of these lizards.  How does one capture a Collared Lizard?  You can get to them early in the cool morning, while they are still sleeping under flat rocks.  Once they are warmed up and active, they are a tough capture. At right are Kansas specimens of collaris.