THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Teiidae  

Tiger Whiptail
Aspidoscelis tigris (Baird and Girard, 1852)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
See de Queiroz et al. (2017, SSAR Herpetological Circular 43: 41) regarding the incomplete separation of this species from A. marmoratus. Mitochondrial clades inferred by Chafin et al. (2021, Frontiers of Biogeography 13.2, e49120) are largely congruent with the previously recognized subspecies A. t. mundus, A. t. punctilinealis, and A. t. septentrionalis, although A. t. punctilinealis would extend west of the Colorado River into southeastern California. A. t. tigris was sparsely sampled but may correspond to clade F, while A. t. stejnegeri was not sampled.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.11.20.08.25.19)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.68 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Arizona California Colorado Idaho Nevada New Mexico Oregon Texas Utah

First instance(s) of published English names:
Tiger Lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Say's Tessellated Lizard (Cnemidophorus tessellatus gracilis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Black-breasted Lizard (Cnemidophorus tessellatus melanostethus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Tessellated Tiger Lizard (Cnemidophorus tessellatus tigris: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris: Stejneger, Leonhard H. 1893. Annotated list of the reptiles and batrachians collected by the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, with descriptions of new species. North American Fauna 7():159–228); Stejneger's Whip-tail (Cnemidophorus stejnegeri: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Stejneger's Whiptail (Cnemidophorus stejnegeri: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Desert Whip-tail (Cnemidophorus tigris: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); California Whip-tail (Cnemidophorus tigris undulatus: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); San Pedro Nolasco Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus bacatus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Bartolome Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus bartolomas: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Sal Si Puedes Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus canus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Santa Catalina Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus catalinensis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Jose Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus celeripes: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Dickerson's Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus dickersonae: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Tiburon Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus disparilis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Esteban Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus estebanensis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Pedro Martir Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus martyris: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Black-throated Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus melanosterhus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Cerros Island Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus multiscutatus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Reddish Whip-tail Lizard (Cnemidophorus rubidus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Whiptail (Cnemidophorus tigris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Colorado Desert Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris gracilis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Coastal Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris multiscutatus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); California Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris mundus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Northern Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris septentrionalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Tessellated Race Runner (Cnemidophorus tigris tigris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1852 Baird, Spencer F. and Charles Girard. Characteristics of some new reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 6:68-70
1931 Burt, Charles E. A study of the teiid lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus with special reference to their phylogenetic relationships. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (154):1-286
1962 Zweifel, Richard G. Analysis of hybridization between two subspecies of the desert whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus tigris. Copeia 1962(4):749-766
1970 Gorman, George C. Chromosomes and the systematics of the family Teiidae (Sauria, Reptilia). Copeia 1970(2):230-245
1975 Stewart, Glenn R. and Ronald S. Daniel. Microornamentation of lizard scales: Some variations and taxonomic correlations. Herpetologica 31(1):117-130
1994 Taylor, Harry L., Christine Beyer, Laurel Harris, and Hung Pham. Subspecific relationships in the teiid lizard Cnemidophorus tigris in southwestern Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 28(2):247-253
1996 Taylor, Harry L., and James M. Walker. Application of the names Cnemidophorus tigris disparilis and C. t. punctilinealis to valid taxa (Sauria: Teiidae) and relegation of the names C. t. gracilis and C. t. dickersonae to appropriate synonymies. Copeia 1996(1):140-148
1998 Dohm, Michael R., Theodore Garland, Charles J. Cole, and Carol R. Townsend. Physiological variation and allometry in western whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus tigris) from a transect across a persistent hybrid zone. Copeia 1998(1):1-13
2000 Dessauer, Herbert d., Charles J. Cole and Carol R. Townsend. Hybridization among western whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus tigris) in Southwestern New Mexico: Population genetics, morphology, and ecology in three contact zones. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (246):148
2002 Reeder, Tod W., Charles J. Cole, and Herbert C. Dessauer. Phylogenetic relationships of Whiptail lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae): A test of monophyly, reevaluation of karyotypic evolution, and review of hybrid origins. American Museum Novitates (3365):1-61
2017 Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167
2021 Walker, J. Martin, Brian K. Sullivan, and James E. Cordes. Sanctioned nomenclature for triploid parthenogenetic Colorado Checkered Whiptail and for other taxa of the lizard genus Aspidoscelis (Family Teiidae). Herpetological Review 52(3):550–558

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 19 May 2025 18:39 CT