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Hello there! I will be telling you about the desert grassland whiptail lizard, or the New Mexico whiptail lizard. They are so cute! Let's get into it!
What Do They Eat?
What Do They Eat?
These Lizards will eat many insects, including ants, termites, larvae, and many more!
What Do They Look Like?
What Do They Look Like?
The Lizards have a head and body length of 86 mm in adults, with a tail about two and a half times longer. The body is dark ( Olive, to Brown, to Black. ) with six to seven cream / white colored stripes running from head to tail. Its abdomen is light in color. In hatchlings, the tail is bright blue, but it fades over time to the blue - green, to dark the green shade of the adult's tails.
Where do they live? How do they survive it? How many adaptations?
Where do they live? How do they survive it? How many adaptations?
This species of lizard originally resulted from the breeding of two other species of whiptail: Texas spotted whiptail, and little striped whiptail. Most Desert grassland whiptails are the result of the breeding of two sexually reproductive species of whiptail, so the ability of these all-female populations to reproduce is an important adaptation which allowed the new species to survive. Unlike bisexual species, where a great portion of the adults are male, every adult whiptail is a female and able to lay eggs. "On the “plus”, this means that the species can reproduce twice as quickly as whiptail species that reproduce sexually, thus allowing for a very quick increase in population, or in repopulation. The negative side of parthenogenesis***** is that very little genetic diversity exists." ( Toronto zoo ) /\
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What is their behavior?
What is their behavior?
Desert whiptails reproduce by parthenogenesis: there is no sexual reproduction because this species contains only females! What occurs is this: "Meiosis is a process of cell division******. After meiosis, the nucleus* of the parent cell has divided twice and formed a total of four daughter cells**. After meiosis has occurred, those four gametes undergo chromosome doubling***. " ( Toronto Zoo ) Females are sexually mature at about 60 mm head and body length. They lay one-to-three clutches**** of eggs in the late spring or early summer. Clutch size depends on the size of the female. The eggs incubate about two months before hatching.
* (the nucleus is the component of a cell responsible for growth and cell division)
** (called “gametes”)
*** (chromosomes are the part of a nucleus that carry the DNA and proteins which are responsible for heredity)
**** (each clutch contains one-to-four eggs)
***** (the manner of development of a disease.)
****** (the division of a cell into two daughter cells with the same genetic material.)
Check Out This Video!
Check Out This Video!
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