The granite night lizard (Xantusia henshawi ) is a species of xantusiid lizard endemic to North America.
The specific name, henshawi, is in honor of American naturalist Henry Wetherbee Henshaw.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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starts withX. henshawi is flat-bodied with a broad, flat head and a soft skin. It has rounded, dark dorsal spots on a pale yellow or cream background. Its scales are granular on its dorsum, but large and squarish on the ventral surface. These lizards have large eyes with vertical pupils, and they lack eyelids.
X. henshawi is found in Mexico in the Mexican state of Baja California, and also in the United States in adjacent southern California.
Granite night lizards are often found on rocky slopes with large exfoliating boulders and abundant crevices, but are occasionally found in coastal sage scrub and chaparral without boulders. They are active in crevices during the day, but move on the surface at night.
