Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Aspidoscelis gularis gularis
Texas Spotted Whiptail

Val Verde Co., Texas
May 17, 1999

How nice it is when the herps come to you! That was how it happened with the Texas Spotted Whiptail.  To put it more accurately, our campsite was home to the Whiptail pictured at left.  We were able to leisurely watch this animal make the rounds (Bug Patrol, I call it) in search of insects while we puttered around camp.  Bug Patrol is simple - take a few steps, swing the head back and forth in a jerky motion scanning for Bugs, take a few steps, repeat.   There were many ants around the area, and this little lizard would eat the larger types, and after careful study, decline to dine on the smaller species.  Whether this was a taste preference or some caloric factor remains unknown to me.  I very much enjoyed watching this lizard go about his business.