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| Uma inornata |
| Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard |
The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, also known by its Latin name, Uma inornata, is a
medium sized, whitish lizard whose entire range is restricted to the sand dunes and dune
hummocks of the Coachella Valley. Superbly adapted to the sand dunes, fringe-toed
lizards rarely if ever leave that habitat. Sand dunes are utterly inhospitable to almost all
life. Their parched dry surface is constantly moving, making it almost impossible to set
down roots, dig burrows or find food. The tiny sand grains start moving in even moderate
winds, acting in some ways as tiny shards of glass, cutting and eroding every surface they
encounter. Yet, despite these barriers, some plants and animals live and even thrive on
desert dunes.
Fringe-toed lizards are among those that thrive on the dunes. They get their name, of
course, from elongate scales on the toes of their hind feet that look like fringes. These
fringes act like miniature snowshoes, giving the lizards extra traction to speed away from
predators on the loose sand surface. The lizards also have fringes on their ears to keep
sand away from their eardrums (they could have just as easily been called fringe-eared
lizards). The lizards' head is perfectly shaped to allow them to dive head first into the soft
sand, actually "swimming" below the sand surface for a few centimeters before they come
to rest. This behavior allows the lizards to disappear in to the dune, leaving no trace
behind and effectively evading all predators. Once below the sand, the lizards' noses are
equipped with a structure that allows the lizards to continue to breathe air, without
bringing sand into their lungs. Taken together, these adaptations provide the fringe-toed
lizards with everything they need to live on dunes.
The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard was listed as threatened by the federal
government and endangered by the state of California in 1980. A system of preserves
has created to provide sanctuary for the fringe-toed lizards as well as the other dune
adapted plants, insects, and mammals unique to the Coachella Valley dunes. After an
agreement was reached with Riverside County and all the cities of the Coachella Valley,
in 1986
the Coachella Valley Preserve System was officially opened. Where once there was 100
square miles of dunes in the Coachella Valley, about four square miles have been
protected. The preserve protects the last remnants of one of the most interesting and
beautiful habitats this valley has to offer.
Dune protection also requires protecting the wind and sand flow into the dunes. Floods
are required to carve sand out of the mountains and bring sand to the valley floor. If
any part of that process is arrested, the dunes stabilize. Sand and wind corridors have
been some of the last areas in the valley to develop because of their severe conditions,
but that could change. Conservation efforts are now focusing on those severe but vital
lands that will need to be protected if the dune ecosystem will survive.
Wishful lizard watchers who see whitish lizards run across a road, or down a desert wash
have undoubtedly seen the much more common desert iguana or a zebra-tailed lizard.
Fringe-toeds are only found on the dunes.
Staying on the dunes offers some real advantages. Since it is such a harsh environment,
there is little competition for space from other lizard species. Plants that are able to send
down roots on a dune usually find abundant water just a few meters below the surface.
Healthy plants provide both vegetable and insect food for the fringe-toeds. Fringe-toed
lizard populations in the Coachella Valley vary in size from year to year. At least part of
that fluctuation can be explained by variations in rainfall; when we have average and
above average rain the lizards breed well and their populations grow. The rains bring
ample food to the dunes in the form or annual flowers and insects. During droughts the
lizards forego much or their breeding activity, and the population tends to drop. Scientists
have monitored the lizard's population since 1986. This has revealed many population ups
and downs. These population changes appear to coincide with rainfall patterns. Those
ups and downs are normal for animal populations and within the established preserves the
lizard populations look very healthy.
The difficulty of living in dunes, for a lizard, appears to have only a few solutions from an
evolutionary perspective. In the Namibian dunes in southwestern Africa there are two
lizard species, not even closely related to our lizards, yet they have the same fringed hind
toes. Another lizard in the Saharan Desert dunes has the same adaptation. Here in
North America there are four other, closely related, species of fringe-toed lizards. The
Mojave fringe-toed lizard, U. scoparia, is a denizen of sand dunes from Death Valley
National Park to the Palen Valley dunes; the Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, U.
notata, occurs from the Algodones Dunes into the Gran Desierto of Sonora, Mexico, to
northeastern Baja California, to southwestern Arizona. There are two fringe-toed lizards
in north-central Mexico, the Chihuahuan (U. paraphygas) and Coahuila (U. exsul) fringe
toed lizards are separated from other North American fringe-toeds by over a thousand of
miles and millions of years, yet they still have the same adaptations. Our fringe-toed
lizard is only found here in the Coachella Valley. It is our responsibility to see that it
thrives and is enjoyed by generations to come.
Welcome to the Coachella Valley Preserve!!
medium sized, whitish lizard whose entire range is restricted to the sand dunes and dune
hummocks of the Coachella Valley. Superbly adapted to the sand dunes, fringe-toed
lizards rarely if ever leave that habitat. Sand dunes are utterly inhospitable to almost all
life. Their parched dry surface is constantly moving, making it almost impossible to set
down roots, dig burrows or find food. The tiny sand grains start moving in even moderate
winds, acting in some ways as tiny shards of glass, cutting and eroding every surface they
encounter. Yet, despite these barriers, some plants and animals live and even thrive on
desert dunes.
Fringe-toed lizards are among those that thrive on the dunes. They get their name, of
course, from elongate scales on the toes of their hind feet that look like fringes. These
fringes act like miniature snowshoes, giving the lizards extra traction to speed away from
predators on the loose sand surface. The lizards also have fringes on their ears to keep
sand away from their eardrums (they could have just as easily been called fringe-eared
lizards). The lizards' head is perfectly shaped to allow them to dive head first into the soft
sand, actually "swimming" below the sand surface for a few centimeters before they come
to rest. This behavior allows the lizards to disappear in to the dune, leaving no trace
behind and effectively evading all predators. Once below the sand, the lizards' noses are
equipped with a structure that allows the lizards to continue to breathe air, without
bringing sand into their lungs. Taken together, these adaptations provide the fringe-toed
lizards with everything they need to live on dunes.
The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard was listed as threatened by the federal
government and endangered by the state of California in 1980. A system of preserves
has created to provide sanctuary for the fringe-toed lizards as well as the other dune
adapted plants, insects, and mammals unique to the Coachella Valley dunes. After an
agreement was reached with Riverside County and all the cities of the Coachella Valley,
in 1986
the Coachella Valley Preserve System was officially opened. Where once there was 100
square miles of dunes in the Coachella Valley, about four square miles have been
protected. The preserve protects the last remnants of one of the most interesting and
beautiful habitats this valley has to offer.
Dune protection also requires protecting the wind and sand flow into the dunes. Floods
are required to carve sand out of the mountains and bring sand to the valley floor. If
any part of that process is arrested, the dunes stabilize. Sand and wind corridors have
been some of the last areas in the valley to develop because of their severe conditions,
but that could change. Conservation efforts are now focusing on those severe but vital
lands that will need to be protected if the dune ecosystem will survive.
Wishful lizard watchers who see whitish lizards run across a road, or down a desert wash
have undoubtedly seen the much more common desert iguana or a zebra-tailed lizard.
Fringe-toeds are only found on the dunes.
Staying on the dunes offers some real advantages. Since it is such a harsh environment,
there is little competition for space from other lizard species. Plants that are able to send
down roots on a dune usually find abundant water just a few meters below the surface.
Healthy plants provide both vegetable and insect food for the fringe-toeds. Fringe-toed
lizard populations in the Coachella Valley vary in size from year to year. At least part of
that fluctuation can be explained by variations in rainfall; when we have average and
above average rain the lizards breed well and their populations grow. The rains bring
ample food to the dunes in the form or annual flowers and insects. During droughts the
lizards forego much or their breeding activity, and the population tends to drop. Scientists
have monitored the lizard's population since 1986. This has revealed many population ups
and downs. These population changes appear to coincide with rainfall patterns. Those
ups and downs are normal for animal populations and within the established preserves the
lizard populations look very healthy.
The difficulty of living in dunes, for a lizard, appears to have only a few solutions from an
evolutionary perspective. In the Namibian dunes in southwestern Africa there are two
lizard species, not even closely related to our lizards, yet they have the same fringed hind
toes. Another lizard in the Saharan Desert dunes has the same adaptation. Here in
North America there are four other, closely related, species of fringe-toed lizards. The
Mojave fringe-toed lizard, U. scoparia, is a denizen of sand dunes from Death Valley
National Park to the Palen Valley dunes; the Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, U.
notata, occurs from the Algodones Dunes into the Gran Desierto of Sonora, Mexico, to
northeastern Baja California, to southwestern Arizona. There are two fringe-toed lizards
in north-central Mexico, the Chihuahuan (U. paraphygas) and Coahuila (U. exsul) fringe
toed lizards are separated from other North American fringe-toeds by over a thousand of
miles and millions of years, yet they still have the same adaptations. Our fringe-toed
lizard is only found here in the Coachella Valley. It is our responsibility to see that it
thrives and is enjoyed by generations to come.
Welcome to the Coachella Valley Preserve!!
