REPTILES: WHIPTAILS AND RACERUNNERS

Six-lined Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus

Family Teiidae (Whiptails and Racerunners)

Size: Up to 10", including tail

Range: Lower latitudes east of the Rocky Mountains

Habitat: Fields with sparse vegetation, open woodlands, rocky areas, streamsides

Closely related to the western whiptail, the six-lined racerunner has the same long, narrow body, long limbs, and very long, thin, whiplike tail. The body is lined with alternating yellowish or whitish stripes and brown to black stripes, often with a brown stripe along the middle of the back. The underparts are white in females, while males show a blue-green wash on the belly, foreparts, and throat. The tail is blue in juveniles and brownish in adults. Active in the daytime, six-lined racerunners bask in the sun and feed on insects and other invertebrates. They are very quick and agile, using speed to avoid capture. They seek the shelter of burrows when temperatures are colder.