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Checkered Whiptail
Cnemidophorus tesselatus
Practically all Checkered Whiptails are females; they reproduce parthenogenetically. That is, their eggs hatch without fertilization and their offspring are genetic replicas of the mother. On occasion, they have mated with other species of lizards, resulting in color pattern variations. These lizards inhabit mesquite-creosote bush scrublands and shrub desert grasslands up through piñon-juniper woodlands, also sandy or gravelly arroyos and riparian areas. They are good climbers. They dig and forage for meals of insects, spiders and sometimes scorpions. In turn, birds and snakes find them tasty.
Lizard Facts
Eight of New Mexico’s 13 species of Whiptails are parthenogenetic.
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