Aspidoscelis tigris
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The western whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is found throughout most of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most of its populations appear stable, and it is not listed as endangered in any of the states comprising its range. It lives in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts and semiarid shrubland, usually in areas with sparse vegetation; it also may be found in woodland, open dry forest, and riparian growth. It lives in burrows. Major differences between this species and the checkered whiptail (Aspidoscelis tesselatus) include the lack of enlarged scales anterior to the gular fold and the presence of enlarged postantebrachial scales. It was previously known as Cnemidophorus tigris, until phylogenetic analyses concluded that the genus Cnemidophorus was polyphyletic. Since it does not migrate, a number of forms have developed in different regions, several of which have been given subspecific names – for example the California whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris munda.
Including the nominotypical subspecies, 16 subspecies of Aspidoscelis tigris are recognized as being valid. A... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Western Whiptail sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 213 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 51 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and July–September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Western Whiptail in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Whiptail sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Western Whiptail sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 5th at about 30%. The best odds are in Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 70%), Zion National Park (United States, about 50%) and Death Valley National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Aspidoscelis
The closest relatives of the Western Whiptail that you can see in Saguaro National Park (genus Aspidoscelis, Northern Whiptails) are Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (about 20%) and Desert Grassland Whiptail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Whiptail is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Saguaro National Park (213 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
