Great Basin Naturalist
Article Title
Food habits of the western whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris) in southeastern New Mexico
Abstract
This study presents the first food habit assessment for the western whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris) in the shinnery oak–mesquite habitat (Quercus havardii–Prosopis glandulosa) of southeastern New Mexico. Short-horned grasshoppers, termites, antlions, beetles, and spiders formed the major portion of the diet during the four-year study. Discriminant analyses were used to evaluate annual, seasonal (monthly), and sexual variation. Incidental food categories were responsible for most of the annual and seasonal variation. Dominant foods varied little between months and years. Sexual variation was more evident; it may act to reduce intraspecific competition for food resources and may be associated with secondary sexual size dimorphism.
Recommended Citation
Best, Troy L. and Gennaro, A. L.
(1985)
"Food habits of the western whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris) in southeastern New Mexico,"
Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 45:
No.
3, Article 17.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol45/iss3/17