Wed Nov 28, 2007
The Twin Lakes Area isn't all about fish. Some very well-dressed lizards live here, too.
At the top of the lizard aristocracy is the Mountain Boomer, also known as the Eastern Collared Lizard and, in zoological circles (take a deep breath): Crotaphytus collaris collaris.
An Eastern Collared Lizard, also known as an Ozark Mountain Boomer, warms itself on a log in a terrarium at the local office of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The colorful lizard is the largest lizard to live in the Ozarks.
The local office of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is home to a live male and female specimen of the Mountain Boomer. Programs on the lizard and other indigenous reptiles are available to area schools for a telephone call to Game and Fish biologists Ken Shirley or Stan Todd at 425-7577.
Todd says the Mountain Boomer in the wild is quite wary. It's a rare feat to get within 10 feet of one. Mountain Boomer habitat is pretty much any rocky, craggy area, especially those underneath old cedar glades, he said.
"Sometimes you will see the males basking on top of the highest rock in the area and he may be doing some push-ups to impress the ladies," said Todd.
The best time to witness that event is in the spring or fall, said Kelly Irwin, AGFC herpetologist. The temperature extremes during those seasons bring both males and females out to bask in the warm sunshine. They burrow down for winter and generally avoid exposure to the high heat of summer.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologist Stan Todd holds a male Eastern Collared Lizard.
Irwin said the Mountain Boomer has not been subject to controlled environmental research to determine how they are thriving in Arkansas.
"They have demonstrated, however, that they will take advantage of habitat created by humans in rock formations created in road cuts," said Irwin. "They have been seen in the riprap above both Bull Shoals and Norfork dams."
Otherwise, the historical habitats are within the rocky, open areas underneath cedar glades.
The Mountain Boomer also has proven a willing participant with the Missouri Wildlife Service in a recent relocation program that successfully introduced the lizard to several new areas of the state.
Irwin said it's permissible for Arkansas residents to keep a Mountain Boomer lizard as a pet but not more than six per household. Lizard lovers who want to keep Mountain Boomers as pets should provide a proper terrarium habitat for the temperature-sensitive creature.
Good luck catching one.
The lizard holds the distinction as the state's fas-*test*-('") lizard sprinter, said Irwin.
"In full stride, the Mountain Boomer runs upright on its hind legs. No other Arkansas lizard can do that. The long tail gives them stability when they're running," said Irwin. The adult lizard can grow to be 14 inches long.
The lizard also sports an impressive coat, combining beads and scales in an array of iridescent colors unique to the Mountain Boomer.
How the lizard earned the name "Boomer" is a mystery, but lizard lore has it that early collared lizard admirers may have observed it in an environment with a bull frog and mistakenly connected the lizard with the sound of a booming bull frog.
"So far as we know, the boomer is silent," said Irwin.
The Mountain Boomer plays an important role in the ecosystem, said Irwin. They dine on baby mice, crickets, grasshoppers, worms and the prolific blue tail skink and gray fence lizards.
Although the Mountain Boomer does not appear threatened, Irwin, the AGFC's only herpetologist, said humans should be sensitive to this fascinating animal when harvesting cedars or clearing timber lands.
The Twin Lakes Area isn't all about fish. Some very well-dressed lizards live here, too.
At the top of the lizard aristocracy is the Mountain Boomer, also known as the Eastern Collared Lizard and, in zoological circles (take a deep breath): Crotaphytus collaris collaris.
An Eastern Collared Lizard, also known as an Ozark Mountain Boomer, warms itself on a log in a terrarium at the local office of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The colorful lizard is the largest lizard to live in the Ozarks.
The local office of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is home to a live male and female specimen of the Mountain Boomer. Programs on the lizard and other indigenous reptiles are available to area schools for a telephone call to Game and Fish biologists Ken Shirley or Stan Todd at 425-7577.
Todd says the Mountain Boomer in the wild is quite wary. It's a rare feat to get within 10 feet of one. Mountain Boomer habitat is pretty much any rocky, craggy area, especially those underneath old cedar glades, he said.
"Sometimes you will see the males basking on top of the highest rock in the area and he may be doing some push-ups to impress the ladies," said Todd.
The best time to witness that event is in the spring or fall, said Kelly Irwin, AGFC herpetologist. The temperature extremes during those seasons bring both males and females out to bask in the warm sunshine. They burrow down for winter and generally avoid exposure to the high heat of summer.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologist Stan Todd holds a male Eastern Collared Lizard.
Irwin said the Mountain Boomer has not been subject to controlled environmental research to determine how they are thriving in Arkansas.
"They have demonstrated, however, that they will take advantage of habitat created by humans in rock formations created in road cuts," said Irwin. "They have been seen in the riprap above both Bull Shoals and Norfork dams."
Otherwise, the historical habitats are within the rocky, open areas underneath cedar glades.
The Mountain Boomer also has proven a willing participant with the Missouri Wildlife Service in a recent relocation program that successfully introduced the lizard to several new areas of the state.
Irwin said it's permissible for Arkansas residents to keep a Mountain Boomer lizard as a pet but not more than six per household. Lizard lovers who want to keep Mountain Boomers as pets should provide a proper terrarium habitat for the temperature-sensitive creature.
Good luck catching one.
The lizard holds the distinction as the state's fas-*test*-('") lizard sprinter, said Irwin.
"In full stride, the Mountain Boomer runs upright on its hind legs. No other Arkansas lizard can do that. The long tail gives them stability when they're running," said Irwin. The adult lizard can grow to be 14 inches long.
The lizard also sports an impressive coat, combining beads and scales in an array of iridescent colors unique to the Mountain Boomer.
How the lizard earned the name "Boomer" is a mystery, but lizard lore has it that early collared lizard admirers may have observed it in an environment with a bull frog and mistakenly connected the lizard with the sound of a booming bull frog.
"So far as we know, the boomer is silent," said Irwin.
The Mountain Boomer plays an important role in the ecosystem, said Irwin. They dine on baby mice, crickets, grasshoppers, worms and the prolific blue tail skink and gray fence lizards.
Although the Mountain Boomer does not appear threatened, Irwin, the AGFC's only herpetologist, said humans should be sensitive to this fascinating animal when harvesting cedars or clearing timber lands.