 Range in California: Orange
Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies
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Adult, Fresno County |
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Adult, Contra Costa County |
Adult, Contra Costa County |
Adult, San Benito County |
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Juvenile, Lake County |
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Whiptail Tracks in sand |
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Habitat, Contra Costa County |
Habitat, Stanislaus County |
Habitat, Fresno County
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Habitat, San Joaquin County
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Habitat, San Joaquin County |
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| 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 side don't form vertical bars. Usually 8 faint light brown stripes are present, but stripes on the side are sometimes indistinct. The throat is pale with with large black spots.
The belly is made of large, smooth, rectangular scales in 8 lengthwise rows. Often there are reddish patches on the sides of the belly.
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, and bright blue on juveniles.
Juveniles have fairly well-defined stripes. |
| 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. |
| Range |
This subspecies is endemic to California, ranging throughout the Central Valley, west to the coast just north of the Monterey Bay, and south through the South Coast Range to Ventura County where there is a zone of intergradation with A. t. stejnegeri.
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 |
| Hot and dry areas with sparse foliage and open areas. Found in forests, woodland, chaparral, riparian areas. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Formerly placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Teiidae |
Whiptails and Racerunners |
| Genus |
Aspidoscelis |
Whiptails (formerly Cnemidophorus) |
| Species |
tigris |
Tiger Whiptail |
| Subspecies |
munda
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California Whiptail |
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Original Description |
Cnemidophorus tigris - Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69
Cnemidophorus tigris mundus - Camp, 1916 - Univ. California Publ. Zool. Vol. 17, p. 71
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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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
munda - Latin - mundus neat, sharp or elegant
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Cnemidophorus tigris mundus
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Coastal Whiptail - A. t. stejnegeri
Great Basin Whiptail - A. t. tigris
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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., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946.
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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.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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Range in California: Orange 
