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The Times was curious to see where people were spotting the three most frequently observed lizard species in Southern California, the fence, the common side-blotched lizard and the southern alligator lizard.

Exploring exactly how the alligator lizard achieves this feat will probably have to wait until its genome is sequenced, which will make it easier to see what it has that related species don’t.

A foot-long alligator lizard skittered in front of me, pausing to pump out a couple of quick pushups before vanishing into the brush.

They say lithium extraction would bring industrial sprawl, large and unsightly drying ponds and threaten a fragile ecosystem that supports Nelson’s bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and the Panamint alligator lizard, among other species.

Currently the zoo directs or supports 65 active projects worldwide, including a breeding program in Guatemala that has brought the arboreal alligator lizard back from the brink of extinction.