# Tiger whiptail (*Aspidoscelis tigris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/tiger-whiptail  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The tiger whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) is a species in the family Teiidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh 15.5 g to 17.4 g, reach 8.13 cm in length and live up to 7.8 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 15.5 g – 17.4 g |
| Length | 8.13 cm |
| Lifespan | 7.8 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 8 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | desert, shrubland |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 – 8 |
| Age at maturity | 8 months – 2.75 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 – 3 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

 Recorded predators: Western Patchnose snake (*Salvadora hexalepis*), Coachwhip (*Masticophis flagellum*), Longnose snake (*Rhinocheilus lecontei*), Greater roadrunner (*Geococcyx californianus*), Longnose leopard lizard (*Gambelia wislizenii*), Sidewinder (*Crotalus cerastes*), Prairie falcon (*Falco mexicanus*), Red-tailed hawk (*Buteo jamaicensis*), Northern harrier (*Circus hudsonius*), Golden eagle (*Aquila chrysaetos*), Common raven (*Corvus corax*), American kestrel (*Falco sparverius*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Teiidae
- genus: Aspidoscelis
- species: *Aspidoscelis tigris* (Baird & Girard, 1852)

Synonyms: *Aspidoscelis bacatus*, *Aspidoscelis cana*, *Aspidoscelis catalinensis*, *Aspidoscelis celeripes*, *Aspidoscelis estebanensis*, *Aspidoscelis tigris vandenburghi*, *Cnemidophorus bacatus*, *Cnemidophorus bartolomas*, *Cnemidophorus canus*, *Cnemidophorus catalinensis*, *Cnemidophorus celeripes*, *Cnemidophorus dickersonae*, *Cnemidophorus disparilis*, *Cnemidophorus estebanensis*, *Cnemidophorus gadovi*, *Cnemidophorus gracilis*, *Cnemidophorus martyris*, *Cnemidophorus melanostethus*, *Cnemidophorus punctilinealis*, *Cnemidophorus stejnegeri*, *Cnemidophorus tesselatus aethiops*, *Cnemidophorus tesselatus multiscutatus*, *Cnemidophorus tesselatus rubidus*, *Cnemidophorus tigris*, *Cnemidophorus tigris gracilis*, *Cnemidophorus tigris mundus*, *Cnemidophorus tigris punctata*, *Cnemidophorus tigris punctatus*, *Cnemidophorus tigris septentrionalis*, *Cnemidophorus tigris vividus*, *Cnemidophorus undulatus*, *Cnemidophorus vandenburghi*

## Common questions

### How big is the tiger whiptail?

An adult tiger whiptail weighs 15.5 g – 17.4 g and measures 8.13 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### How long does the tiger whiptail live?

The tiger whiptail has a recorded lifespan of 7.8 years.

### What kind of animal is the tiger whiptail?

The tiger whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) belongs to the family Teiidae in the order Squamata.

### What eats the tiger whiptail?

Animals recorded preying on the tiger whiptail include western patchnose snake, coachwhip, longnose snake and greater roadrunner. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Tiger whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tiger-whiptail