Little Striped Whiptail (Cnemidophorus inornatus)

Adult Size: 6½" to 9½"

Description: Slender with 6 to 8 light stripes separated by dark reddish-brown to black bands without spots. Small granular scales on the back. The throat and underside are blue, which is intense on males, and pale in females. There are 8 lengthwise rows of large smooth rectangular belly scales. The tail is brownish at the base with the remainder being bright blue.

Habitat: Arid and semiarid grasslands with some low bruch; flatlands with gentle slopes.

Breeding: Mates in the spring. A clutch of 2 to eggs are laid in May to July.

Range: New Mexico, extremem southeastern Arizona, western Texas south into Mexico.

Diet: Beetles, grasshoppers, and spiders are the chief food of this whiptail.

Behavior: Diuranl. When frightened, it tends to seek cover under shrubs, then abandon them in favor of burrows if the threat persists. Populations are densest where vegetation is scattered, neither too open nor too thick.

Video

Conservation Status:

Additonal Notes:

Subspecies: Four with only 2 in our range

Arizona Little Striped Whiptail (C.i. arizonae) - interposed dark bands blue-gray and the underside is light blue. Found in southeastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Photo...

Trans Pecos Little Striped Whiptail (C.i. heptagrammus) - dark bands are black and the underside is dark blue. Found in western Texas, southeastern New Mexico and northern Mexico. Photo...