I had to follow this little Desert Grassland Whiptail, Aspidoscelis uniparens, around for 15 minutes before it would hold still long enough to get a quick photo. Like a lot of whiptails I encounter, it didn’t much mind my presence, and felt just fine continuing to root around in the soft soil looking for small insects.
As the species name may suggest, uniparens, this species is entirely female; each baby being a perfect clone of the parent. This of course also renders them unable to change with their habitat or adapt to new challenges, ultimately leading to the demise of the species.
Desert Grassland Whiptail
Tags: arizona, desert grassland whiptail, Field Herping, lizard, Photography, uniparens, whiptail
She’s kinda cute for a little lizard. I need to go field herping now, I have a Canon Rebel T1i to learn how to use.
It’s not top of the line, but it’s a step in the right direction. Wish I’d had it back at The Sets, it goes to 3200 ISO.