A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Aspidoscelis tigris tigris - Great Basin Whiptail

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Red

Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies

Adult, Inyo County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Inyo County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Inyo County

Juvenile, Washoe Co., Nevada

Adult, Kern County

Tiny juvenile, aprox. 2 inches long snout-to-vent, Imperial County © Karyn Sieglitz

Adult with pink and tan coloration, Imperial County © Adam Clause

Adult, San Diego County

These pictures of a freshly road-killed Imperial County adult serve as a good illustration of this lizard's large belly scales, very long taill, and pale throat.

Adult, Washoe County, Nevada

This lizard has a transparent lower eyelid -
open on the left
closed on the right.

Whiptail Tracks in sand

Roadrunners prey on whiptails and other lizards. This one has caught a Desert Grassland Whiptail in Arizona.

Habitat

Habitat, Inyo County

Habitat, San Diego County

Habitat, Inyo County

Habitat, San Bernardino County

Habitat during Spring wildflower bloom, San Diego County

Habitat, rocky wash, Inyo County

Habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, San Bernardino County

Habitat, Kern County

Habitat, Inyo County

Habitat, Great Basin desert,
4,000 ft., Lassen County

Short Videos

A noosed whiptail is released, but decides not to move until prodded and then it disappears in a flash.

A Great Basin Whiptail climbs up into a desert shrub to search for food.

Two Great Basin Whiptails forage along the ground and on a rock outcrop with their characteristic slow and jerky movement.

Views of a couple of Great Basin Whiptails in the desert.

Description

Size

Aspidoscelis tigris as a species is 2 3/8 - 5 inches inches long snout to vent (6 - 12.7 cm), up to around 13 inches (33 cm) total length.

Appearance

Slim-bodied with a long slender tail, a thin snout, and large symmetrical head plates.
The back and sides are grey, tan, or brown, marked with dark spots or bars or mottling, which is often very sharply defined. Dark marks on the sides often form vertical bars. Usually 4 faint light stripes are present along the back. These stripes fade with age.
The belly is made of large, smooth, rectangular scales in 8 lengthwise rows. Often there are reddish patches on the sides of the belly. The throat is pale with with obscure black spots.
Scales on the back are small and granular, and scales on the tail are keeled.
The tail can reach up to two times the length of the body. The tail tip is dark or bluish.
Juveniles have fairly well-defined stripes and the tail is blue.

Behavior

Diurnal. Wary and very active, moving with abrupt stops and starts, side-to-side head movement, and tongue flicking. Often seen digging rapidly when foraging. Difficult to approach - typically foraging near cover, and capable of quick bursts of speed into heavy brush or holes.

Diet

Small invertebrates, especially spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and termites, and small lizards.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid from April to August and hatch in about a month and a half.

Range

In California, this subspecies ranges from the Great Basin deserts in the north - the Honey Lake Basin and the Surprise Valley - east of the Sierras into the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.
The species (Aspidoscelis tigris) ranges from Northcentral Oregon and southern Idaho, south through California and Nevada to Baja California, and east into Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas. Sea level to 7,000 ft. (2,130 m).

Habitat

Found in a variety of ecosystems, primarily hot and dry open areas with sparse foliage - deserts, chaparral, sagebrush, woodland, and riparian areas. Avoids areas with dense growth.

Taxonomic Notes

Formerly placed in the genus Cnemidophorus.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None

Taxonomy
Family	Teiidae	Whiptails and Racerunners
Genus	Aspidoscelis	Whiptails (formerly Cnemidophorus)
Species	tigris	Tiger Whiptail
Subspecies	tigris	Great Basin Whiptail
Original Description
(Cnemidophorus tigris - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69) from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
(Cnemidophorus - Gr. knemidos greaves and Gr. phoros wearing - refers to the large scales on forelegs) Aspidoscelis - shield leg tigris - Latin - of a tiger - refers to the dorsal pattern from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Formerly placed in the Genus Cnemidophorus
Related or Similar California Lizards
California Whiptail - A. t. munda Coastal Whiptail - A. t. stejnegeri
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Turtles and Lizards of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Jones, Lawrence, Rob Lovich, editors. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2009. Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946. Brown et. al. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society,1995. Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow, Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983. St. John, Alan D. Reptiles of the Northwest: Alaska to California; Rockies to the Coast. Lone Pine Publishing, 2002. Brennan, Thomas C., and Andrew T. Holycross. Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2006. Degenhardt, William G., Charles W. Painter, & Andrew H. Price. Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, 1996. Williamson, Michael A., Paul W. Hyder, & John S. Applegarth. Snakes, Lizards, Turtles, Frogs, Toads & Salamanders of New Mexico. Sunstone Press, 1994.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. This animal is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Game	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List

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