Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail
​(INTRODUCED)

Aspidoscelis exanguis
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Map accurate as of 1/31/2024
Diagnostic Features
  • A long (maximum 4.2 inches [107 mm] snout-vent length), slender lizard with a tail longer than the body.
  • Body covered with granular scales; dorsal color brown or reddish-brown usually with six (sometimes seven) light stripes running the length of the body and light spots.
  • Ventral scales large and somewhat rectangular.

Coloration / Markings: Lizards have a brown or reddish-brown background color with six (sometimes seven) light, longitudinal stripes running the length of the body and light spots that in adults are especially conspicuous on the back near the thighs; the stripes become increasingly faded and the spots more prominent as the lizard grows. Hatchling lizards have light, slightly wavy stripes against dark fields that develop light spots over time. They frequently have a mid-dorsal line of small, yellow spots (Taylor et al. 2018).
Size: The largest reported size for this all-female species is 4.2 inches (107 mm) snout-vent length (Cordes and Walker 2016). A hatchling in captivity had a snout-vent length of 32 mm (Taylor et al. 2018).
General Distribution: The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail ranges north from northern Mexico into southeastern Arizona and southwestern Texas with the majority of its distribution being through most of New Mexico, where it is absent from the northwest and extreme northeastern corners. An established array has been documented in Las Animas County, Colorado (Livo et al. 2019), approximately 60 km north of the northernmost records from New Mexico (Livo et al., in press).
Colorado Distribution: The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail has a limited distribution in Colorado, with records extending from western Trinidad to the northeastern portions of Trinidad Lake State Park, occupying elevations in this area between 6021 and 6444 feet.
Habitat: Throughout its range, this lizard occupies a variety of habitats. In Colorado, they have been found primarily in pinon-juniper woodland.
Conservation Status: As a recently documented and non-native (introduced) species, the Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail currently has no specific status with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
NatureServe rank: G5 (secure); State: not listed.
Activity: Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptails are diurnal, with most activity in Colorado observed from mid-morning to early afternoon (pers. obs.). In New Mexico, activity begins when soil temperatures reach 26 to 30 °C and the lizards can maintain body temperatures of 34 to 44 °C (Medica 1967). In Texas, adults are active from early May until late August; hatchlings appeared in mid-July and only hatchlings remain active late in the season (Schall 1993). Limited records in Colorado indicate this species is active from at least mid-May, with hatchlings active as late in the season as October 20 (pers. obs.).
Reproduction: Aspidoscelis exsanguis is an all-female, triploid species that reproduces through parthenogenesis. Lizards in New Mexico contained oviductal eggs from late June to late July; hatchlings appeared by late August (Medica 1967). Females produce 1-7 eggs, likely in a single annual clutch (Taylor and Caraveo 2003).
Feeding & Diet: Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptails consume a variety of invertebrates including moths and their larvae, beetles, grasshoppers, and spiders (Medica 1967, Schall 1993).
Defenses from Predation: Like many whiptails, Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptails flee into vegetation or holes when threatened (pers. obs.). Elsewhere snakes are reported to prey on this lizard.
Nomenclature: In 1956, Lowe provided a brief description of this taxon as Cnemidophorus sacki exsanguis; Duellman and Zweifel (1962) later elevated it to full species  It was moved from the genus Cnemidophorus to Aspidoscelis by Reeder et al. (2002).
Cited & Additional Resources
  • Cordes, J.E., and J.M. Walker. 2016. Natural History Notes: Aspidoscelis exsanguis (Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail). Maximum body size. Herpetological Review 47:294–295.
  • Duellman, W.E., and R.G. Zweifel. 1962. A synopsis of the lizards of the sexlineatus group (genus Cnemidophorus). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 123:155–210.
  • Livo, L.J., and T.L. Wilcox. 2021. Aspidoscelis exsanguis (Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail) established in Las Animas County, Colorado, USA. Herpetological Review 52:20-23.
  • Livo, L.J., H.M. Floyd, and B.J. Long. In press. Geographic Distribution: Aspidoscelis exsanguis (Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail). Herpetological Review.
  • Lowe, C.H., Jr. 1956. A new species and a new subspecies of whiptailed lizards (genus Cnemidophorus) of the inland southwest. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 10:137–150.
  • Medica, P.A. 1967. Food habits, habitat preference, reproduction and diurnal activity in four sympatric species of whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus) in south central New Mexico. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 66:251–276.
  • Reeder, T.W., C.J. Cole, and H.C. Dessauer. 2002. 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 3365:1–61.
  • Schall, J.J. 1993. Community ecology of Cnemidophorus lizards in southwestern Texas: a test of the weed hypothesis. Pages 319–343 in J. W. Wright  and L. J. Vitt, editors. Biology of Whiptail Lizards (Genus Cnemidophorus). Herpetologists' League Special Publication no. 3, Norman, Oklahoma.
  • Taylor, H.L., and Y. Caraveo. 2003. Comparison of life history characteristics among syntopic assemblages of parthenogenetic species: two color pattern classes of Aspidoscelis tesselata, A. exsanguis, A. flagellicauda, and three color pattern classes of A. sonorae (Squamata: Teiidae). Southwestern Naturalist 48:685–692.
  • Taylor, H.L., C.J. Cole, and C.R. Townsend. 2018. Relegation of Aspidoscelis flagellicaudus to the synonymy of the parthenogenetic Teiid lizard A. sonorae based on morphological evidence and a review of relevant genetic data. Herpetological Review 49:636–653.
  • Taylor, H.L., C.J. Cole, and C.R. Townsend. 2019. Patterns of multivariate meristic variation, color-pattern variation, and a review of genetic variation in the North American parthenogenetic teiid lizard Aspidoscelis exsanguis. Herpetological Review 50:263–271.
  • Walker, J. M., B. K. Sullivan, and J. E. Cordes. 2021. Sanctioned nomenclature for triploid parthenogenetic Colorado Checkered Whiptail and for other taxa of the lizard genus Aspidoscelis (Family Teiidae). Herpetological Review 52:550-558.
Account compiled by:  Lauren J. Livo
Reviewed by:  Anthony Berardi
Last updated:  1/9/2024 by Anthony Berardi
Suggested Citation
Colorado Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.  2021.  Species account for the Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis exsanguis). Compiled by Lauren J. Livo. http://www.coparc.org/chihuahuan-spotted-whiptail.html [accessed date here].
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