Orange-throated whiptail

Orange-throated whiptail
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Teiidae
Genus:	Aspidoscelis
Species:	A. hyperythra
Binomial name
Aspidoscelis hyperythra Cope 1863
Subspecies
A. h. beldingi Stejneger 1894 A. h. hyperythrus Cope 1863 A. h. pictus Van Denburgh and Slevin 1921[1]

The Orange-throated whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythra) is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It was previously placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. A. hyperythra has five or six light colored stripes down a black, brown, or grey dorsal side. The middle stripe may be forked at both ends. It is whitish-yellow or cream on the venter, and has an orange throat (females and juveniles may lack this character). Its head is yellow-brown to olive colored, and its tongue is forked and flicked continually. It has a length of 5–7.2 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in).

This lizard is native to southern California in the United States and the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico.^[1]

Juveniles of this species have cobalt blue legs and tails. The entire ventral surface of males, including the tail, may be orange, although gravid females may also have some orange especially lining the lower jaw. The colors are most distinct in the breeding season. Males have larger femoral pores than females.

The orange-throated whiptail has a distinctive, jerking gait.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Deletion of Cnemidophorus hyperythrus from Appendix II" (PDF). Consideration of Proposals for Amendments of Appendices I and II. CITES. http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/12/prop/E12-P34.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Cnemidophorus hyperythrus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• This article is based on a description from "A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California", Robert N. Fisher and Ted J. Case, USGS, http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/index.htm.
• Jeffrey M. Lemm. Field guide to amphibians and reptiles of the San Diego Region. University of California Press. 2006.

External links

• Information & picture