Species:

Aspidoscelis xanthonota

Red-backed Whiptail

May 27, 2001
Alamo Canyon, Organ Pipe National Monument, Pima County, Arizona
Red-backed Whiptail (Aspidoscelis xanthonota)
This attractive whiptail has a very limited range in the United States -- just a few small areas in south-central Arizona -- so I was very happy to run across one. (I saw one more the next day.)

Until recently, this whiptail was considered a subspecies of the Canyon Spotted Whiptail.

This species was placed in the genus Cnemidophorus until recently, so most reference books still use that name.