Cnemidophorus sexlineatus
Encyclopedia
The Six-lined Racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus) is a species
of lizard
found in the United States
, from Wyoming
across the Great Plains
east to Rhode Island
, south to Florida
and west to southern Texas
, and in northern Mexico
, in Tamaulipas
.
. The underside is usually white in color on females, and a pale blue in males. Males also sometimes have a pale green colored throat. They are slender bodied, with a tail nearly twice the body length.
lizard, the Six-lined Racerunner is diurnal
and insectivorous
. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, with speeds of up to 18mph, darting for cover if approached. Due to its extensive range, it is found in a wide variety of habitats including grassland
s, woodlands, open floodplains, or rocky outcroppings. It prefers lower elevations, with dry loamy soils. Breeding takes place in the spring and early summer, with up to six eggs
being laid in mid-summer and hatch six to eight weeks later. A second clutch of eggs may be laid several weeks after the first.
of C. sexlineatus:
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...
found in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
across the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
east to Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, south to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and west to southern 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 in 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 Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
.
Description
The Six-lined Racerunner is typically dark green, brown or black in color, with six yellow or green-yellow stripes that extend down the body from head to tailTail
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...
. The underside is usually white in color on females, and a pale blue in males. Males also sometimes have a pale green colored throat. They are slender bodied, with a tail nearly twice the body length.
Behavior
Like other species of whiptailTeiidae
Teiidae is a family of lizards native to the Americas, generally known as whiptails. The group includes the parthenogenic genera Cnemidophorus and Aspidoscelis, and the non-parthenogenic Tupinambis. It has over 230 member species in ten genera...
lizard, the Six-lined Racerunner 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, with speeds of up to 18mph, darting for cover if approached. Due to its extensive range, it is found in a wide variety of habitats including 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...
s, woodlands, open floodplains, or rocky outcroppings. It prefers lower elevations, with dry loamy soils. Breeding takes place in the spring and early summer, with up to six 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 mid-summer and hatch six to eight weeks later. A second clutch of eggs may be laid several weeks after the first.
Subspecies
There are three recognized subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of C. sexlineatus:
- Eastern Six-lined Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus (LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1766) - Texas Yellow-headed Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus stephensae (Trauth, 1992)
- Prairie Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridisCnemidophorus sexlineatus viridisThe Prairie Racerunner is a subspecies of the Six-lined Racerunner lizard,...
(Lowe, 1966)