Cnemidophorus is a genus of lizards in the family Teiidae. Species in the genus Cnemidophorus are commonly referred to as whiptail lizards or racerunners. The genus is endemic to South America, Central America, and the West Indies.
The western whiptail is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species ranges throughout most of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most of its populations appear stable, and it is not listed as endangered in any of the states comprising its range. It lives in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts and semiarid shrubland, usually in areas with sparse vegetation; it also may be found in woodland, open dry forest, and riparian growth. It lives in burrows. Major differences between this species and the checkered whiptail include the lack of enlarged scales anterior to the gular fold and the presence of enlarged postantebrachial scales. It was previously known as Cnemidophorus tigris, until phylogenetic analyses concluded that the genus Cnemidophorus was polyphyletic. Since it does not migrate, a number of forms have developed in different regions, several of which have been given subspecific names – for example the California whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris munda.
The desert grassland whiptail lizard is an all-female species of reptiles. It was formerly placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. A. uniparens have limited social stimuli, having only two basic needs: finding food and avoiding predators. A common predator of the whiptail lizard is the leopard lizard, that prey on A. uniparens by using ambush and stalk haunting tactics. These reptiles reproduce by parthenogenesis. In this process, eggs undergo a chromosome doubling after meiosis, developing into lizards without being fertilized. However, ovulation is enhanced by female-female courtship and "mating" (pseudo-copulation) rituals that resemble the behavior of closely related species that reproduce sexually.
The gray checkered whiptail is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to the United States in southern New Mexico and western Texas, and northern Mexico.
The six-lined racerunner is a species of lizard native to the United States and Mexico.
The little striped whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. A significant amount of research was done on the species during the mid-1990s, with several new subspecies being added, many of which some sources consider to be distinct enough to warrant full species status, and the research is ongoing. It is called little to distinguish it from many other species known as striped whiptails and to indicate that it is the smallest of those species.
Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis, commonly known as the prairie racerunner, is a subspecies of lizard endemic to the United States. It is a subspecies of Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, which is commonly known as the six-lined racerunner lizard.
The Saint Lucia whiptail or Vanzo's whiptail is a species of lizard in the Teiidae family. The species is endemic to Saint Lucia, where it has been extirpated from the main island and is now only native to the small islets of Maria Major and Maria Minor, with fewer than 1,000 individuals estimated. A third population has been established on nearby Praslin Island through translocation. It is the only species of Cnemidophorus found in the Caribbean.
The rainbow whiptail is a species of lizard found in Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It has also been introduced in Florida and has established populations there. A rainbow whiptail grows up to approximately 12 inches (30.5 cm).
The Roatán coral snake also known as Coral de la Isle de Roatán or Coral Roatanense in Spanish is a critically endangered species of elapid snake, endemic to the island of Roatán off of the coast of Honduras. There are no recognized subspecies.
Cnemidophorus arubensis, the Aruba whiptail, is a species of whiptail lizard in the genus Cnemidophorus. It is found on the island of Aruba.
Cnemidophorus arenivagus is a species of teiid lizard found in Venezuela.
Cnemidophorus flavissimus is a species of teiid lizard found on Islas Los Frailes in Venezuela.
Cnemidophorus gramivagus is a species of teiid lizard found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil.
Cnemidophorus leucopsammus is a species of teiid lizard endemic to Blanquilla Island in Venezuela.
Cnemidophorus nigricolor is a species of teiid lizard endemic to Venezuela.
Cnemidophorus pseudolemniscatus, Colee's racerunner, is a species of teiid lizard found in Suriname and French Guiana.
Cnemidophorus senectus is a species of teiid lizard endemic to Venezuela.
