Galápagos Lava Lizard

The females look quite different, being less colourful and smaller (this specimen measured around 5cm, excluding the tail). They do, however, display these bright orange/red cheek patches, which are also an indicator for sexual maturity. In this specimen, the orange colouration extends over most of the front half of the body. Base colour is a dark brown, almost without spots and lacking the stripes altogether. The scales are keeled and pointy, but the overall appearance is not as 'spiky' as the males.