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Reptiles of the United States  
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A Guide to the Reptiles &
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Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail Range Map






Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail Video




Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail Juvenile

Home »» Lizards »» Teiidae (Whiptails & Racerunner Lizards) »» Orange-Throated Whiptails »» Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythrus beldingi)


Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail (A.h. beldingi)Species of Least Concern





Description: 2 - 2 3/4 inches snout to vent. A slim-bodied lizard with a long slender tail, a pointed snout, and large symmetrical head plates. Scales on the back are small and granular, and scales on the tail are keeled. The back is unspotted and black, dark brown, or grayish with 6 or fewer pale yellow or whitish stripes. The throat and often the chest are orange, turning brighter orange during breeding season. The belly is pale blue-gray or whitish with large, smooth, rectangular scales in 8 lengthwise rows. The tail color fades to gray in adults. The tail can reach up to two times the length of the body. The tail is blue in juveniles.


Habitat: Semi-arid brushy areas typically with loose soil and rocks, including washes, streamsides, rocky hillsides, and coastal chaparral.


Range: In California, this subspecies ranges from the Santa Ana River in Orange County, and near Colton in San Bernardino County, west of the Peninsular ranges, south almost to the cape region of the Baja Peninsula. A second subspecies occurs from there to the southernmost edge of Baja California.


Found in these States: CA


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


Reproduction: Eggs are laid June - July, hatching in about 2 months.


Status: Populations of this lizard are fragmented. It inhabits only about 25 percent of its former range. Much of the habitat it needs for survival has been destroyed by development.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Lizards
           »» Family: Teiidae - Whiptails & Racerunner Lizards
             »» Genus: Aspidoscelis
               »» Species: Aspidoscelis hyperythrus - Orange-Throated Whiptail
                 »» Subspecies: Aspidoscelis hyperythrus beldingi - Belding's Orange-Throated Whiptail

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Orange-Throated Whiptail", 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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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

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