14 Types of Lizards Found in Kansas! (ID Guide)

“What kinds of lizards can you find in Kansas?”

I was amazed by the number of lizards in the United States – well over 150 species! Some species live only in a small area, and some are widespread over hundreds of miles.

Today, you’ll learn about 14 different kinds of lizards in Kansas.

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#1. Six-Lined Racerunner

• Aspidoscelis sexlineata

Identifying Characteristics:

• 2.25 to 3.75 inches long from snout to vent (length does not include the tail).
• “Dark fields,” or broad stripes in between lighter stripes on whiptails, are brown to black.
• 6-8 light stripes vary in color from white or yellow to gray-blue.
• In males, coloring is much brighter, with greens on the back and light turquoise on the belly.

The Six-Lined Racerunner has the widest range of all lizards in Kansas.

They thrive in varied habitats, including grassland, rocky terrain, wooded areas, and even floodplains. So, you have a good chance of seeing one as long as you’re within their range!

Six-Lined Racerunners are insectivores, and their primary food source is termites. However, they also eat beetles, ants, and spiders, so these small whiptails can be handy to have around if you have a pest problem.

The Six-Lined Racerunner lives up to its name, clocking speeds at up to 18 miles per hour! They have no problem outmaneuvering predators and curious humans!

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#2. Prairie Lizard

• Sceloporus consobrinus

Identifying Characteristics:

• 3.5 to 7.5 inches long from snout to vent (length does not include the tail).
• Coloring is light reddish-brown with a light brown stripe down the spine.
• Orange or red coloring on the lips and chin is sometimes present.

Look for Prairie Lizards in Kansas in habitats with lots of places to perch, including open forests, tall grass fields, or even dunes. Their diet is made up of insects and spiders they can easily subdue.

Prairie Lizard Range Map:

These spiny lizards are one of the best climbers in their family! In Kansas, Prairie Lizards spend most of their time off the ground perched in trees, on fences, and even on sunflowers.

In addition to climbing, Prairie Lizards can run so fast that they’re hard to catch. If you see one, you’ll probably have more luck observing from a distance than trying to get up close!

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#3. Great Plains Skink

• Plestiodon obsoletus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 13 inches long.
• Coloring ranges from light gray or olive to tan with darker brown markings.
• The tail and feet are usually pale yellow or orange, and the belly is often marked with salmon.
• Young individuals are black with an iridescent blue tail and gold spots on the head.

Great Plains Skinks in Kansas are frequently found in prairie grassland with open, low-growing plants. However, they occasionally also live in woodland or semi-arid desert areas.

Great Plains Skinks are very aggressive if threatened!

They hide under rocks, shrubs, or logs but are likely to bite if they are disturbed or handled. So, if you happen to find one, observe with caution!

In addition, they’re aggressive hunters and will eat insects, snails, spiders, and even other lizards.

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#4. Coal Skink

• Plestiodon anthracinus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 7 inches long.
• Four light stripes run the length of the body and a portion of the tail.
• Juveniles are sometimes all black with no markings.
• During the breeding season, some males develop reddish blotches on the sides of the head.

Coal Skinks are one of the most secretive, shy skinks in Kansas!

They are hard to find because they spend much of their time under rocks, leaf litter, or fallen logs. Coal Skinks prefer moist, humid areas and live on hillsides with nearby streams.

If you spot a Coal Skink, you can identify it by the lack of a middle stripe on its back.

Two subspecies, the Northern Coal Skink (P.a. anthracinus) and the Southern Coal Skink (P.a. pluvialis), are scattered throughout the US.

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#5. Common Five-Lined Skink

• Plestiodon fasciatus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 8.75 inches long.
• 5 stripes are most apparent in hatchlings and fade as the skinks grow.
• Males have orange-red coloring on the jaw during the breeding season.
• Hatchlings are black with light stripes. The black coloring often fades to gray, and the lighter stripes darken.

Look for Common Five-Lined Skinks in eastern Kansas in wooded areas near rotting stumps, outcrops of rock, and sometimes piles of boards or sawdust. Its diet consists of spiders, beetles, crickets, and other insects.

Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society

Females attend to their eggs throughout the incubation period.

They spend almost all of their time defending and caring for the eggs until they hatch!

If you happen to come across a nest, you may notice the mother curled up on top of or around the eggs. She also rolls the eggs to maintain their humidity, moves them back to the nest if they become disturbed, and even eats eggs that aren’t viable!

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#6. Broad-Headed Skink

• Plestiodon laticeps

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 12.75 inches long.
• Coloring in males is uniform brown or olive. Females often keep some form of stripes that are more apparent in hatchlings.
• The tail is gray in adults and blue in young.
• Males develop orange-red coloring on the jawline during the breeding season. Sometimes the entire head turns bright orange.

Look for Broad-Headed Skinks in southeastern Kansas in swamp forests, woodlands, or vacant lots with debris.

You can easily recognize this species by its triangular head!

Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society

Broad-Headed Skinks are one of the few skink species at home among trees! They will often climb trees for cover and protection from predators. They forage on the ground for their food, searching leaf litter and debris for insects and spiders.

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#7. Southern Prairie Skink

• Plestiodon obtusirostris

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 8 inches long.
• Coloring is brown to tan with a dark stripe bordered in white along each side.
• The stripes usually fade with age, and older, larger individuals may be almost uniformly brown.
• Hatchlings and young have blue tails.

The Southern Prairie Skink prefers streambeds for its habitat, and you can generally find them near clumps of prickly pear cactus. They are quick to hide from predators and eat small insects. Because of their skittish nature, it can be hard to find this species in the wild.

Some scientists consider the Southern Prairie Skink and the Northern Prairie Skink subspecies. But their ranges don’t overlap, and they’re different enough in appearance that full species status is generally given to both.

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#8. Northern Prairie Skink

• Plestiodon septentrionalis

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 9 inches long.
• Their coloring is olive-brown with multiple light stripes bordered with dark brown.
• Some individuals have a single stripe in the middle of the back, while others have a pair of stripes.
• The belly is generally a lighter brown than the back and uniform in color.

You’re likely to find Northern Prairie Skinks in open plains and along streambeds in Kansas. They are one of the hardiest species of skinks and can survive extremely cold temperatures.

Northern Prairie Skinks have a fascinating way of staying alive during winter. They burrow below the frost line to stay warm enough not to freeze!

Some scientists consider the Northern Prairie Skink and the Southern Prairie Skink subspecies. However, they don’t live in the same area, and their appearance is so different that most references give both full species status.

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#9. Little Brown Skink

• Scincella lateralis

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are up to 5.75 inches long.
• Coloring is golden-brown to almost black with dark stripes that usually blend in with the main body color.
• The belly is white, sometimes with a yellowish cast.

In southeastern Kansas, they’re often called Ground Skinks because they live on the forest floor.

They can also be found in gardens and urban areas with lots of debris or litter to hide in.

Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society

Believe it or not, Little Brown Skinks have the interesting talent of seeing with their eyes closed! But honestly, it just looks like their eyes are closed. Technically, they have a window in their lower eyelids that allows them to see at all times.

That’s a very handy adaptation for one of the smallest reptiles in Kansas. The Little Brown Skink has many predators, including snakes, larger lizards, and birds of prey. When they try to sneak up on a “sleeping” Little Brown Skink, often the skink can run away using the element of surprise!

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#10. Texas Horned Lizard

• Phrynosoma cornutum

Identifying Characteristics:

• 2.5 to 5 inches long from snout to vent (length does not include the tail).
• Coloring can vary from yellow to reddish or gray-brown, with a light stripe on the back.
• In addition to the two long central horns, two rows of spiky scales, called fringe scales, line the sides of the body.

The Texas Horned Lizard is best known for shooting blood from its eyes to defend against predators!

These reptiles are even able to aim the foul-tasting blood directly into the predator’s mouth! Talk about biting off more than you can chew!

Texas Horned Lizards are found in Kansas in open, sandy land without much plant life. Some cactus or mesquite may be present, but their habitat is mostly rocky with loose soil or sand to burrow in and lay eggs. They can lay clutches of up to 50 eggs at a time!

Texas Horned Lizard Range Map:

Almost the entire diet of the Texas Horned Lizard is made up of ants. However, they do occasionally eat beetles and grasshoppers.

These gorgeous lizards also make popular pets and unfortunately, many have been released outside of their normal range. Natural populations are threatened because of habitat loss, the introduction of fire ants, and pesticide use.

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#11. Slender Glass Lizard

• Ophisaurus attenuatus

Identifying Characteristics:

• 22 to 47 inches long.
• Coloring is generally brown to black, with whitish markings in the middle of the scales.
• Younger individuals have dark stripes along the back and sides, and older individuals develop faint crossbands.

Slender Glass Lizards live in dry grasslands and open forests in eastern Kansas.

They eat insects, spiders, small rodents, and small lizards. However, unlike snakes, they do not have flexible jaws, which means they can only eat prey smaller than their head!

Credit: United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Glass lizards are named for their extremely fragile tails, which can break off even without being touched. Slender Glass Lizards are rarely found with their original tail intact because they break so often! If you notice that the end of its tail is tan with no stripes, you can be sure the lizard lost its original tail.

You’re likely to find a Slender Glass Lizard in animal burrows or piles of debris.

There are two subspecies:

• Western Slender Glass Lizards (O. attenuatus attenuatus) have shorter tails.
• Eastern Slender Glass Lizards (O. attenuatus longicaudus) have longer tails.

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#12. Eastern Collared Lizard

• Crotaphytus collaris

Identifying Characteristics:

• 3-4.75 inches long from snout to vent (length does not include the tail).
• This lizard has a large, broad head and chunky body with a round tail.
• There are two dark collars on the neck, a thinner one near the head and a thicker one near the body.
• Coloring is variable: greenish-blue, olive, brown, or yellow are all common. Females are generally darker and less colorful.

Eastern Collared Lizards can be found in Kansas in desert shrubland, open juniper-pinon forest, and grassland. They prefer areas with rocks for basking, open space for running, and lots of sunlight.

Credit: United States Geological Survey (USGS)

The Eastern Collared Lizard is wildly territorial!

Adult males will not live in the same area, and if they’re placed in the same enclosure, they’ll fight to the death. You might see them displaying dominance by standing on their hind legs, inflating their throat, and weaving from side to side.

Eastern Collared Lizards aren’t just aggressive toward one another – they’re also powerful predators! Their sharp teeth and strong jaws make catching a meal easy. They have been known to eat large insects, reptiles, and even other Collared Lizards!

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#13. Common Lesser Earless Lizard

• Holbrookia maculata

Identifying Characteristics:

• Up to 2.75 inches long from snout to vent, and 4 to 5.25 inches total.
• Tan to brown with pale stripes along the back.
• Males have pairs of black bars behind the arms, which females typically lack.
• Gravid (pregnant) females develop pink, yellow, or orange coloring on their backs.

Common Lesser Earless Lizards are found in Kansas in tallgrass prairie with sandy soil.

They are highly camouflaged and almost impossible to see on the ground unless they’re moving.

Credit: United States Geological Survey (USGS)

If you do spot a Common Lesser Earless Lizard, you might notice that it doesn’t have ear openings like other lizards! This is an adaptation that allows it to spend most of its life burrowed under the loose soil of its habitat.

There are up to NINE distinct subspecies of the Lesser Earless Lizard! However, there’s some disagreement in the scientific community about whether all subspecies deserve a separate name. They’re all very similar in looks, and more research is needed.

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#14. Mediterranean House Gecko

• Hemidactylus turcicus

Identifying Characteristics:

• 1.5 to 2.5 inches long.
• The pupils are vertical, and the eyes are large and round with immovable eyelids.
• This species has two color phases for camouflage.
  • Pale phase: the coloring is light pink to pale yellow or white with brown or gray blotches.
  • Dark phase: the coloring darkens to gray or brown, obscuring the blotches on the back.

You might be surprised to find out that the most abundant and widespread gecko in Kansas is NOT native! The Mediterranean House Gecko was introduced to Kansas via imported plants carrying their egg clutches. They’re adaptable to so many environments that their population quickly outpaced any of our native geckos!

Mediterranean House Geckos are nocturnal, but this won’t stop you from being able to find them. They’re considered an “urbanized” species, which means they’re just as happy to live inside your house as they are in the wild!

Virginia Herpetological Society

They eat insects attracted to lights and are commonly found on walls, ceilings, and window screens in homes. Outside, look for them in rock crevices or cracked tree trunks.

In addition to being comfortable around humans, Mediterranean House Geckos in Kansas are a vocal species. The mating call of males is a series of clicks, and they frequently make a squeaking noise if threatened.

Even though Mediterranean House Geckos aren’t native to Kansas, they’re so well-recognized that they belong on any list of geckos in our area.

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Do you need additional help identifying lizards?

Try this field guide!

• Peterson Field Guides to Reptiles and Amphibians

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Which of these lizards have you seen in Kansas?

Leave a comment below!

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Also, if you enjoy this article, make sure to check out these other guides!

• 11 FROGS Found in Kansas! (ID Guide)

• 14 Types of TURTLES in Kansas! (Both aquatic and land)

• 28 Kinds of SNAKES That Live in Kansas! (Includes venomous species)