This distinctively marked individual was perhaps the only one I saw that was clearly a Plateau Lizard and not a Northern Sagebrush Lizard.

These lizards were formely considered to be a subspecies of Eastern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus elongatus. But they were shown to be a separate species in 2002 in a study accepted by the editors of the SSAR names list.

These lizards were ubiquitous on the logs and rocks surrounding the high desert oasis of Oak Creek Canyon. The top one had prominent orange highlights; the middle one is a tiny baby; the bottom one is apparently trying to look intimidating by puffing up its body and stretching its legs high.

Here's a particularly fat (gravid?) plateau lizard basking in the late afternoon sun.

Nothing fancy here, just your classic lizard in a classic lizard pose.

This extra-chubby plateau lizard is probably a gravid female.

This brave lizard was picturesquely posed on a boulder near the parking lot. It let me approach very closely, then would eventually scuttle off. But each time, it only took a few minutes before it was back on that same boulder showing off its buff physique.

We spent just an hour or so one morning at Orilla Verde National Recreation Area on our way from Taos down to Santa Fe, mostly to give our dogs a chance to stretch their legs. The Plateau Lizards and Plateau Whiptails were just starting to wake up and get some morning sun.

We stopped for a lunch at a National Forest road not too far from the tiny town of Corona. The two most common sights in the area were cow pies and Plateau Lizards. This young fellow was the prettiest of the Plateau Lizards that I saw.

These lizards, like many Sceloporus, are habitat generalists. They can be found on the ground, on rocks, on logs, etc.

This was a large dark individual, catching the first warmth of the day.