Gray checkered whiptail

Gray checkered whiptail
Gray Checkered Whiptail
Conservation status
IUCN3.1
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Cnemidophorus
Species: C. dixoni
Binomial name
Cnemidophorus dixoni
Scudday, 1973
Synonyms

Cnemidophorus tesselatus dixoniStebbins, 1985
Aspidoscelis dixoniReeder, 2002

The Gray Checkered Whiptail (Cnemidophorus dixoni) is a species of lizard native to the United States in southern New Mexico and western Texas, and northern Mexico. It was once considered a subspecies of the Common Checkered Whiptail, Cnemidophorus tesselatus, but was later granted full species status. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic. The epithet dixoni is in homage of renowned herpetologist James R. Dixon, which leads some sources to refer to it as Dixon's Whiptail.

Description

The Gray Checkered Whiptail grows to between 8 and 12 inches (20 and 30 cm) in length. It is typically gray in color, with 10–12 white or yellow stripes that go the length of the body, often with spotting or checkering on the stripes. They are thin bodied, with a long tail.

Behavior

Like most whiptail lizards, the Gray Checkered Whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. Its preferred habitat is rocky, semi-arid areas with sparse vegetation. The species is parthogenic, females lay unfertilized eggs in the mid-summer, which hatch in approximately six weeks.

External links


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