Island Night Lizard Proposed to Be Removed from Current Listing as Threatened

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed plans to take off the island night lizard from its current listing as "threatened."

The proposal is based on successful recovery endeavor by the Navy and National Park Service.

The Island Night Lizard was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in the United States since 1977; the IUCN lists the species as vulnerable

The Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana) is a night lizard native to three of the Channel Islands of California: San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island and San Clemente Island.

Officials approximately estimate 21 million island night lizards are living in San Clemente Island; 15,300 live on San Nicolas Island and 17,600 live on Santa Barbara Island.

The island night lizard is a medium-sized lizard, with adults ranging from 2 ¾ to 4 inches in body length.

It is also know for slow growing and long-lived, with some individuals reaching at least 25 years of age. The island night lizard gives birth to live young (as opposed to laying eggs), which is not common among reptiles.

The island lizards are much bigger than their cousins in the genus, the desert night lizards (Xantusia vigilis) of southern California.