Cnemidophorus sonorae
sonoran spotted whiptail

Cnemidophorus sonorae ranges from southeastern Arizona to northeast Sonora, and east into New Mexico (Case 1990, McAllister 1992). This lizard prefers elevations between 3200 and 8000 feet (Goldberg et al. 1997).

These lizards inhabit semi-arid to arid habitats within their range in western North America. These habitats include oak woods and oak savanna, streamside woods, desert grasslands, and desert scrublands (Goldberg et al. 1997, Case 1990, Routman and Hulse 1984, Stebbins 1985).

Snout to vent length is 62-87 mm.

This lizard has six dorsal stripes with five to eight dorsal scales between the middorsal stripes. Overall color is blackish brown or reddish, with white, tan or yellowish spots dorsally and the tail is often a dull orange-tan that tapers to olive at the tip. The belly is cream-colored, and unmarked (Stebbins 1985).

This species has a bimodal daily activity pattern. They are generally active from about 0830 to 1130 hrs and then rest during the intense heat of the day, resuming activities in the afternoon from 1400 to 1700 hrs. The peak activity is during the morning session. Their fat storage remains low for most of their seasonal activities and increases slightly before brumation (dormancy) begins in late summer or fall (Routman and Hulse 1984).

This lizard feeds largely on small animals with an average length of 1.28 mm numerically and 1.80 mm volumetrically (Goldberg et al. 1997). Prey is mostly insects and other invertebrates. In captivity they have eaten chicken mash (Porter et al. 1994).

Lizards are useful in the control of insect pests; they fill an important ecological niche as small predators in a number of aridland habitats.

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Common predators of C. sonorae are birds, especially the roadrunner, and many reptiles which they may encounter in burrows. They do have the ability of autotomizing their tails (Routman and Hulse 1984). This may help in the evasion of some predation attempts.