Big Bend Spotted Whiptail (A.s. septemvittatus)
Description: A.s. septemvittatus is an elongated reptile covered with small, granular scales of equal size along its back and sides. It is one of the larger whiptail species in Texas, with adult males reaching a total length of just over one foot, although the average is about 9 inches. The back is adorned with six or seven light tan stripes that run lengthwise from the neck to the hips. Numerous dark spots appear in random order in between these light stripes, giving this animal the common name.
Habitat: Habitat includes rocky terrain with sparse vegetation, from canyons and low desert foothills to mountains. Eggs are laid underground.
Range: A.s. septemvittata occurs in the Big Bend Region of west Texas.
Found in these States:
TX
Diet: Like other species of whiptail lizard, the Plateau spotted whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous.
Reproduction: Breeding takes place in the spring, with females laying eggs in the mid summer, which hatch six to eight weeks later.
Status: Species listed as Vulnerable due to its limited range.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Lizards
»» Family: Teiidae - Whiptails & Racerunner Lizards
»» Genus: Aspidoscelis
»» Species: Aspidoscelis scalaris - Plateau Spotted Whiptail
»» Subspecies: Aspidoscelis scalaris septemvittatus - Big Bend Spotted Whiptail
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "NAME", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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