Triploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail
Cnemidophorus neotesselatus


Family Teiidae

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, the Diploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail C. tesselatus, having one set of chromosomes from each parent (2N). A member of that population is then thought to have hybridized with a Six-lined Racerunner (C. sexlineatus), which led to the current population, having three complete sets of chromosomes (3N).

We follow Walker et al. (1997) in recognizing C. neotesselatus as a distinct species from C. tesselatus.
  Triploid Colorado Checkered Whiptail
Photo by L. Livo and S. Wilcox,
from Hammerson, 1986.
Used with permission.
         
CountyRef. CountyRef. CountyRef. CountyRef.
Adams  Dolores  La Plata  Pitkin 
Alamosa  Douglas  Lake  Prowers 
Arapahoe  Eagle  Larimer  PuebloJMW1
Archuleta  El Paso  Las AnimasJMW1 Rio Blanco 
Baca  Elbert  Lincoln  Rio Grande 
BentNote1 FremontJMW1 Logan  Routt 
Boulder  Garfield  Mesa  Saguache 
Chaffee  Gilpin  Mineral  San Juan 
Cheyenne  Grand  Moffat  San Miguel 
Clear Creek  Gunnison  Montezuma  Sedgwick 
Conejos  Hinsdale  Montrose  Summit 
Costilla  Huerfano  Morgan  Teller 
Crowley  Jackson  OteroJMW1 Washington 
Custer  Jefferson  Ouray  Weld 
Delta  Kiowa  Park  Yuma 
Denver  Kit Carson  Phillips 
Map of Colorado
Color Key
Adams Alamosa Arahapoe Archuleta Baca Bent Boulder Chaffee Cheyenne Clear Creek Conejos Costilla Crowley Custer Delta Denver Dolores Douglas Eagle El Paso Elbert Fremont Garfield Gilpin Grand Gunnison Hinsdale Huerfano Jackson Jefferson Kiowa Kit Carson La Plata Lake Larimer Las Animas Lincoln Logan Mesa Mineral Moffat Montezuma Montrose Morgan Otero Ouray Park Phillips Pitkin Prowers Pueblo Rio Blanco Rio Grande Routt Saguache San Juan San Miguel Sedgewick Summit Teller Washington Weld Yuma