San Diegan Legless Lizard

The Southern California legless lizard is small and slender, with no legs, a shovel-shaped snout, smooth shiny scales, and a blunt tail. On close observation, eyelids are also present, making clear that the species are lizards and not snakes. Its dorsum is light olive-brown, with strong yellow sides, and its ventral colour is moderate yellow. It also has a black mid-dorsal stripe with the length of less than one scale wide that stretches from the parietals to the tip of the tail, and multiple black stripes that are one scale wide from the eye to the tip of the tail. The holotype is adult female measuring 132 mm (5.2 in) in snout–vent length with 81 mm (3.2 in) regenerated tail.

This species is found from Southern California to the northern half of the state of Baja California (México). Sightings have been noted from as far north as Bakersfield, California to as far south as Ensenada, México. They have also been observed on the Mexican Islas de Todos Santos and the Islas Coronados. Further inland, the species has been seen in the Angeles National Forest, the San Bernardino National Forest, and the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California, and as far east as Mexicali, México.

The specific name stebbinsi honors Robert C. Stebbins, an American herpetologist.