North GroundHuntNorth Ground Hunt — return to North Ground
Species authority page

Plateau striped whiptail

Aspidoscelis velox · Lizards · Reptiles

Plateau striped whiptail (Aspidoscelis velox): Long, slender lizard with dark and light stripes running the length of the body. Adults reach about 8.7 cm snout-vent (28 cm total length). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Aspidoscelis velox
Family
Teiidae
In North America
Native
Range
Colorado Plateau and vicinity in southern Utah, western Colorado, northern Arizona and northern New Mexico at about 1,200-2,440 m; introduced and established at Cove Palisades State Park, Oregon.
Biology

How to identify it

Long, slender lizard with dark and light stripes running the length of the body. [1][2]

Adults reach about 8.7 cm snout-vent (28 cm total length). [1][2]

Hatchlings (33-37 mm snout-vent) have a bright blue tail. [1][2]

All individuals are female; the species reproduces by parthenogenesis. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Pinyon-juniper woodland, mountain shrubland, sagebrush, open chaparral, oak woodland and riparian areas, and lower elevations of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forest. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal; usually active from May to September (hatchlings may be active into mid-October). [1][2]

Reproduces without males: clutches of 3-5 eggs are laid late June to early July and hatchlings emerge from mid-August. [1][2]

Eats any available arthropod. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Colorado Plateau and vicinity in southern Utah, western Colorado, northern Arizona and northern New Mexico at about 1,200-2,440 m; introduced and established at Cove Palisades State Park, Oregon.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Colorado Parks and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife