The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail (Cnemidophorus exsanguis) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

 native to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in southern Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, southern New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 and southwestern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, and northern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 in northern Chihuahua and northern Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

. The species is believed to be the result of extensive hybridization between the Little Striped Whiptail, Cnemidophorus inornatus

Cnemidophorus inornatus

The Little Striped Whiptail 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 Plateau Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidophorus septemvittatus

Cnemidophorus septemvittatus

The Plateau spotted whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southern United States in Texas, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua and Coahuila...

, and the Western Mexico Whiptail, Cnemidophorus costatus. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic

Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by a male...

.

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

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...

 that is nearly three times their body length.

Behavior

Like most whiptailed lizards, the Chihuahua Spotted Whiptail is diurnal

Diurnal animal

Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...

 and insectivorous

Insectivore

An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....

. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. They are found in a wide variety of habitats

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

, from open grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 to rocky canyon lands of the Chihuahua Desert. The species is parthenogenic, with unfertilized eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

being laid in the mid summer, and hatching approximately six weeks later.