I caught a Desert Whiptail lizard on the top of the peak at Guano Point on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. It was the first time I had ever caught a Whiptail because of how fast they are. I used the old distraction method; wiggle the fingers of one hand in the front of the lizard and then grab it with the other hand from behind. My guests got some nice photos of the little critter. They, as well as other people on the peak enjoyed touching the lizard. It was never aggresive and never tried to bite me.
The lizard was busy eating some kind of fly when I caught it. You can see the flies on my hat. They were buzzing around everywhere. It was really having a feast.
I had to keep my fingers clamped around the lizard so that it wouldn't get away before my guests were able to photograph it.
When I let it go it scampered away as though nothing had happened.
The interesting thing about Whiptails is that there is a species that is related to the Western Whiptail called the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail that reproduces asexually. All the members of that species are female and the eggs simply are clones .
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
site says this:
These species, such as the Sonoran spotted whiptail (C. sonorae), consist entirely of genetically identical females that lay unfertilized eggs, creating a population of clones. Oddly enough, many of the behaviors exhibited by sexually reproducing species are expressed by these parthenogenetic lizards.
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