Colorado Herpetological Society's

Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Colorado

Diploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail
(Cnemidophorus tesselatus)

Family Teiidae

Photo from Hammerson, 1986.
Used with permission.

Last Updated on January 20, 2000.

Diploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail (Cnemidophorus tesselatus)
Description: 3" to 4" snout-vent length; to 15½" overall. Color cream to tan, with checkered pattern of black or dark brown blotches arranged in regular rows between lighter narrow stripes. Head long and triangular. Scales on back small and granular; scales on underside larger and rectangular. Elevation Range: Below 6900' in southeastern Colorado.

This species is parthenogenic, consisting almost entirely of females which are capable of reproducing without benefit of male fertilization. The species is thought to have originated relatively recently, from hybridization between an individual Western Whiptail (C. tigris) and a C. gularis, producing a self-reproducing population having one set of chromosomes from each parent (2N). A member of this population is then thought to have hybridized with a Six-lined Racerunner (C. sexlineatus), which formed the Triploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail C. neotesselatus, having three complete sets of chromosomes (3N).