238 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



sometimes half their sustenance comes from 

 buds and foliage. 



The gridiron-tailed lizard has received its 

 common name because of the broad black bands 

 found on the underside of the tail, which are so 

 conspicuous when this appendage is reared in 

 flight. This interesting lizard is found quite 

 uniformly distributed over the sandy plains and 

 gravelly washes of both the Colorado and the 

 Mohave Deserts of California; also in western 

 Nevada and southern Utah, where it is one of 

 the most abundant lizards of the region. Dur- 

 ing winter it is dormant. 



