Chihuahuan spotted whiptail
| Chihuahuan spotted whiptail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Sauria |
| Family: | Teiidae |
| Genus: | Cnemidophorus |
| Species: | C. exsanguis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cnemidophorus exsanguis Lowe, 1956 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aspidoscelis exsanguis | |
The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail (Cnemidophorus exsanguis) is a species of lizard native to the United States in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas, and northern Mexico in northern Chihuahua and northern Sonora. The species is believed to be the result of extensive hybridization between the Little Striped Whiptail, Cnemidophorus inornatus, the Plateau Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidophorus septemvittatus, and the Western Mexico Whiptail, Cnemidophorus costatus. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic.
Description
The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail grows from 9.5 to 12 inches in length. It is typically a reddish-brown in color, with six lighter colored stripes that run the length of the body, with spotting between the stripes. The underside is white or sometimes pale blue. They are slender bodied, with a tail that is nearly three times their body length.
Behavior
Like most whiptailed lizards, the Chihuahua Spotted Whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. They are found in a wide variety of habitats, from open grassland to rocky canyon lands of the Chihuahua Desert. The species is parthenogenic, with unfertilized eggs being laid in the mid summer, and hatching approximately six weeks later.