| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Cnemidophorus tigris, Western Whiptail

This version was saved 16 years, 6 months ago View current version     Page history
Saved by PBworks
on September 28, 2007 at 10:29:27 pm
 

 Cnemidophorus tigris, Western Whiptail

   (Also known as Aspidoscelis tigris)

Animalia: Craniata: Squamata: Reptilia: Teiidae: Cnemidophorus: tigris

 

             

     C. tigris, Western Whiptail. photograph courtesy of Robert Shantz

 

Morphology: Cnemidophorus tigris are relatively small squamates, only about 2-6 inches in snout-to-vent length. Distinguishing characteristics include a forked chemoreceptive tongue, pointed snout, triangular head, spotted, and "tiger-like" markings. However, the trademark of C. tigris is its long, thin tail, which can be up to twice as long as its torso if it has never had to lose and regenerate its tail due to predation.

     Colors in C. tigris tend to run from bright blue-greens in juveniles to dull browns, blacks, and yellows in adults. These vary between subspecies and tend to become less saturated with age. Also, elevation has been shown to be proportionally related to increased melanism. Dorsal scales are small, granular, and generally dark-colored. The ventral scales are larger, with a flat, square appearance and white coloration, running in eight rows from snout-to-vent. Keeled scales run down the length of the limbs,

 

 

 

Distribution: The Cnemidophorus genus of squamates is located wholly in the New World, with the Cnemidophorus tigris being found in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Oregon, Southwest Idaho, and West Texas. 17 subspecies habitate various regions, with A.t. tigris being the only subspecies habitating Idaho. Globally, they are secure in their population, but in Idaho, there is a concern about long-term decline. 

     Region of habitation for C.t. tigris. Image courtesy of NatureServe Explorer

 

Habitat:  Most species of whiptail lizards inhabit arid, dry regions, . Their preferable habitatats are grasslands and desert regions, where they take up residence in the abandoned burrows of mice, rats, and other lizards. Sagebrush, sedges, grasses, and other low-lying plants are the favored vegetation for the lizards to hunt in and around.

 

 

     C. tigris, Western Whiptail. Photograph courtesy of Robert Shantz

 

Reproduction: Some hybrid species of the Cnemidophorus genus have evolved the usage of parthenogenesis. However, C. tigris tends to be bisexual, with very little dimorphism between sexes except larger femoral pores in males. It is suggested, however, that the unisexual ____ is a hybrid of C tigris and ____; the parthenogenic capability evolving due to environmental stress, since all unisexual whiptails inhabit harsh desert habitats.

 

Whiptails in general tend to lay smaller clutches, yet larger eggs, than iguanids. Females may produce more than one clutch per reproductive season; however, this seems to depend on latitude, with more southerly populations seeing not only multiple clutches, but also larger clutches.

 

Behavior and Diet: The majority of whiptails happen to be diurnal, with most being active in the morning and seeking shelter in the afternoon.

  The Western Whiptail is primarily an insectivore, feeding on various types of arthropods, such as beetles, ants, butterflies, and grasshoppers. They are also known to feed on scorpions, spiders, and other small lizards. Whiptails use their jaws instead of tongue to capture their prey, like most other scleroglassans (Meyers & Herrel, 2003). Also, tiger whiptails are active predators, moving in a .1-.3 hectare home range

 

C tigris both hibernates and aestivates, though latitude and seasonal differences between various parts of the Western US tend to affect different populations. C.t. tigris is usually active by mid-April in Idaho, but aestivates during the summer, becoming more active in the fall.  

 

One identifying characteristic of C. tigris is its gait -- some subspecies have a 'jerking' gait, but all subspecies place their hind feet in front of their fore feet when walking.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

World Wildlife Fund. WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. Jan-06 www.worldwildlife.org/wildfinder. Accessed Sept. 24, 2007.

 

NatureServe. 2007. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.

http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. Accessed September 24, 2007.

 

Urban, Emil K. Quantitative study of locomotion in teiid lizards. Animal Behavior. Vol. 13 Issue 4 (1965), pp. 513-529.

 

Taylor, Harry; Harris, L; Burkholder, G; Walker, J. Relationship of Clutch Size to Body Size and Elevation of Habitat in Three Subspecies of the Teiid Lizard, Cnemidophorus tigris Copeia, Vol. 1994, No. 4. (Dec. 19, 1994), pp. 1047-1050.

 

The Reptile Database. 2007.  J Craig Venter Institute. http://www.tigr.org/reptiles/. Accessed Sept. 24, 2007

 

Reeder, T; Cole, C; and Dessaur, H. Phylogenetic Relationships of Whiptail Lizards of the Genus Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae): A Test of Monophyly, Reevaluation of Karyotypic Evolution, and Review of Hybrid Origins. American Museum Novitates. Number 3365 (7 May 2002), pp. 1-61.

 

Digital Atlas of Idaho. 1997. http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/reptile/lacer/cnti/cnti.htm. Accessed Sept. 24, 2007.

 

 Cnemidophorus tigris - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69

 

Western Ecological Research Center. March 5 2003. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/cnti.htm Accessed Sept 24, 2007


 

 

 

~ Page created by Sarah Dossey, sdossey@vandals.uidaho.edu 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.