Six-lined racerunner

Six-lined racerunner
Male six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata).
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Aspidoscelis
Species: A. sexlineata
Binomial name
Aspidoscelis sexlineata
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms

The six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) is a species of lizard native to the United States and Mexico.

Geographic range

Aspidoscelis sexlineata is found throughout much of the western portion of the United States, across the Great Plains to southern Texas and northern Mexico.

Description

Adult, Indialantic, Florida

The six-lined racerunner is typically dark green, brown, or black in color, with six yellow or green-yellow stripes that extend down the body from head to tail. The underside is usually white in color on females, and a pale blue in males. Males also sometimes have a pale green-colored throat. They are slender-bodied, with a tail nearly twice the body length.

Behavior

Like other species of whiptail lizards, the six-lined racerunner is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, with speeds of up to 18 mph (29 kmh), darting for cover if approached.

Habitat

Due to its extensive range, A. sexlineata is found in a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, woodlands, open floodplains, or rocky outcroppings. It prefers lower elevations, with dry loamy soils.

Reproduction

Breeding takes place in the spring and early summer, with up to six eggs being laid in mid-summer and hatching six to eight weeks later. A second clutch of eggs may be laid several weeks after the first. According to National Geographic (November 2016) lizards of the genus Aspidoscelis "are all female and parthenogenetic, meaning their eggs develop into embryos without fertilization."

Subspecies

There are three recognized subspecies of A. sexlineata:

Conservation status

The six-lined racerunner is listed as a species of concern in the state of Michigan, due to its limited population but otherwise holds no official conservation status.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

External links

Data related to Aspidoscelis at Wikispecies Media related to Aspidoscelis sexlineata at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.