Cnemidophorus inornatus

Taxobox
name = Little Striped Whiptail
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_caption = Three species of whiptail: Little Striped Whiptail, ("C. inornatus"), New Mexico Whiptail ("C. neomexicanus") and Tiger Whiptail ("C. tigris").
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Sauria
familia = Teiidae
genus = "Cnemidophorus"
species = "C. inornatus"
binomial = "Cnemidophorus inornatus"
binomial_authority = Baird, 1859
synonyms = "Cnemidophorus perplexus"
Van Denburgh, 1922
"Cnemidophorus gularis velox"
Springer, 1928
"Aspidoscelis inornata"
Reeder, 2002

The Little Striped Whiptail ("Cnemidophorus inornatus") is a species of lizard found in the United States, in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo León. The species had a significant amount of research done on it during the mid 1990s, with several new subspecies being added, many of which some sources consider to be distinct enough to warrant full species status, and the research is ongoing. It is called "little" to distinguish it from many other species known as striped whiptails, and that it is the smallest of those species.

Description

The Little Striped Whiptail grows from 6.5 to 9.5 inches in length. It is typically black in color, with yellow or white striping from head to tail, and a light blue underside. It is slender bodied, with a blue colored tail approximately three times the body length. The blue coloration is much more pronounced on males than females.

Behavior

Like most species of whiptail lizard, the Little Striped Whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. They are found in a range of habitats, from grasslands to semi-aridm rocky slopes. Breeding takes place in the late spring, and clutches of 2 to 4 eggs are laid from May to July and hatch approximately six weeks later.

Subspecies

There are eight recognized subspecies of "Cnemidophorus inorantus":

*"Cnemidophorus inornatus chihuahuae" (Wright & Lowe, 1993)
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus cienegae" (Wright & Lowe, 1993)
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus" (Axtell, 1961) - Trans-Pecos Striped Whiptail
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus juniperus" (Wright & Lowe, 1993) - Woodland Striped Whiptail
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus llanuras" (Wright & Lowe, 1993)
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus inornatus" (Baird, 1859)
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus octolineatus" (Baird, 1858)
*"Cnemidophorus inornatus paululus" (Williams, 1968)citation
last = Williams
first = Kenneth L.
authorlink = Kenneth L. Williams
journal = Journal of Herpetology
volume = 1
issue = 1/4
year = 1968
date = March 29, 1968
title = A New Subspecies of the Teiid Lizard Cnemidophorus inornatus from México
page = 21-24
url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/1563258]

References

*EMBL genus|genus=Cnemidophorus|species=inornatus
* [http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/lizards/cnemidophorus.inornatus.html Herps of Texas: "Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus"]