CreatureData

Black legless lizard

Anniella pulchra Gray, 1852

Status not recordedlizards

The black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra) is a species in the family Anguidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh 3.98 g to 4.34 g and reach 14.4 cm in length.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the black legless lizard

Weight
3.98 g – 4.34 gsrc for Weight
Length
13.2 cm – 14.4 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
11.9 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrubland, woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.5 – 1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Resting metabolic rate
1.82 mW – 2.97 mWsrc for Resting metabolic rate
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the black legless lizard?

BLACK LEGLESS LIZARD · LENGTH 14.4 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 14.4 cm, the recorded maximum length of the black legless lizard is about 8.5% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What eats the black legless lizard?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded predators of the black legless lizard

1 on record

  1. Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus4 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/272101968
  • DIADOPHIS PUNCTATUS MODESTUS (San Bernardino Ring-neck Snake). DIET. 1995. Herpetological Review 26(1): 38-38
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105703994

Where does the black legless lizard live?

Not recorded

Is the black legless lizard endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the black legless lizard classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyAnguidae
  6. genusAnniella
  7. SpeciesAnniella pulchra Gray, 1852

Synonyms Anniella nigra, Anniella nigra argentea, Anniella nigra nigra, Anniella pulchra argentea, Anniella pulchra nigra, Anniella pulchra pulchra, Anniella texana

Other names and names in other languages (15)
  • California legless lizardEnglish
  • Northern California legless lizardEnglish
  • Northern legless lizardEnglish
  • Silvery legless lizardEnglish
  • hadovec šedýCzech
  • Kalifornische RingelschleicheGerman
  • Lagartija ÁpodaSpanish
  • Lagartija sin patas californianaSpanish
  • Lagartija sin patas norteñaSpanish
  • Lagartija-sin patas californianaSpanish
  • kaliforniai lábatlangyíkHungarian
  • Чёрная безногая ящерицаRussian
  • Калифорнийская безногая ящерицаRussian
  • Apoda Negraroot
  • Apoda Plateadaroot

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISWikidata

Relatives of the black legless lizard

Other species in the same genus Anniella.

CompareBlack legless lizard vs Baja California legless lizardBlack legless lizard vs Bakersfield legless lizardBlack legless lizard vs San Diegan legless lizardBlack legless lizard vs Temblor legless lizard

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black legless lizard?

An adult black legless lizard weighs 3.98 g – 4.34 g and measures 13.2 cm – 14.4 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the black legless lizard?

The black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra) belongs to the family Anguidae in the order Squamata.

What eats the black legless lizard?

Animals recorded preying on the black legless lizard include ring-necked snake. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-legless-lizard

MLA

“Black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-legless-lizard.

BibTeX
@misc{black_legless_lizard_2026,
  title = {Black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-legless-lizard},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}