Female jewel lizards are mostly gray, with only small patches of blue and green, although both males and females have a speckled appearance.
I wasn't expecting to see such a brightly-colored creature in the National Park where I was hiking, and the jewel lizard reminded me of something I might find in a tropical rainforest. Even though they stood out against the boulder, the jewel lizard's colors can actually help it to blend in amongst the bushes and trees where it lives, and the speckled pattern of its scales can even provide camouflage against the dark rocks at certain angles. I was very lucky to spot this little critter!
Jewel lizards are found throughout central and southern Chile, from the Coquimbo region south to Los Lagos (the region where I saw "my" lizard). They also range into parts of Argentina and can live in many different environments, including wilderness forests, scrubland, and even urban (city) areas.
Even though jewel lizards spend time in bushes and sunning on rocks (like the one I saw), each male lizard has his own tree that he guards as his territory and can climb for protection from predators. A single male may have several female lizards living in "his" tree.
Jewel lizards are a very adaptable species and even live in some urban areas, often using high walls or similar structures in place of trees.
