Check out the tail on this Whiptail Lizard; it's at least twice as long as the body itself. Here's an interesting discovery about the New Mexico Whiptail Lizard: they're all female. They reproduce by parthenogenesis; that is, the lizard lays eggs that hatch without male fertilization. All the offspring are exact clones of the mother. (I'm just guessing that there are some women out there who'd love to reproduce without the help of a man.)
* (See note below.)Here's a close-up shot of the lizard; beautiful markings, no?
*A giant yucca at the edge of an arroyo, where moisture is abundant.
The vegetation growing in the arroyo (looking south).
Barrel cactus with that salad?
* This is probably the Tiger Whiptail rather than the New Mexico Whiptail, the latter having horizontal stripes along the length of its body.
3 comments:
So if those lizards are all clones of the mother, does that mean that they all look identitical? Or is there at least a little variation?
I'd guess that there's be some variation, at some point. Isn't that the basis for the theory of evolution? An occasional genetic belch?
Is it true that barrel cactus holds liquid that can keep a person alive? Or is that a popular myth courtesy of 'Gunsmoke'?
Post a Comment