Compare two species

Arizona Striped Whiptail vs. Plateau Striped Whiptail

Both are striped, spotless whiptails. Their ranges do not meet: the Arizona Striped lives only on the desert grassland flats of Cochise and Graham counties (Sulphur Springs and San Simon valleys), the Plateau Striped on the Colorado Plateau north of the Mogollon Rim. A: Small, grainy scales, none enlarged in the Arizona Striped Whiptail; a patch of distinctly enlarged plate-like scales in the Plateau Striped Whiptail. B: Tinted blue in the Arizona Striped Whiptail; no blue on the face in the Plateau Striped Whiptail. C: Bright blue in the Arizona Striped Whiptail; blue-green in the Plateau Striped Whiptail. Where it was found settles it: the two never share a valley. The forearm scales (owner's table) separate them in hand even without a locality.

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Arizona Striped Whiptail

Aspidoscelis arizonae

Plateau Striped Whiptail

Aspidoscelis velox

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