I was out on the patio with our visiting grandpuppy when I noticed this little girl zip across my line of sight. I watched her go near our AC unit and I went to get my camera fully expecting her to be gone by the time I returned. I was happy to get these photos because Prairie Racerunners wait for no one.

Prairie Racerunners, Cnemidophorous sexlineatus sexlineatus, belong to the Teiidae or Whiptail family of lizards. These are long-tailed and longitudinally striped lizards that inhabit the grasslands and deserts of the Southwestern United States. They are daytime active and like to eat insects, spiders, scorpions, and other small animals they find or dig out.

This individual sports the 3 green racing stripes down each side but lacks a seventh green stripe down the center of its back and inside the tan stripe found there. This specimen was about 3.5 inches from nose to vent (basically to base of tail).

We see this species several times per year when it gets warm enough for them to forage. I think they also come to the Air Conditioning condensate drain for water or bugs that go there too. Lots of fun to see, but they scoot out of range really fast.

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The animal pictured in this photograph is a Prairie Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis. It is one of two species found in Texas. This picture was taken in Fort Worth and is a part of the state where both species of  Racerunner can be seen. This specimen has green stripes along its sides and a faint line inside the dorsal brown stripe giving this guy 7 stripes down his back. These two characteristics distinguish this lizard from his cousin Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus, the Six-lined Racerunner. Also, the blue belly and throat identify this animal as a male.

The Prairie Racerunner belongs to the whiptail family (Teiidae) whose members occupy North and South America only. Cnemidophorus is the only genus in this large family found in the United States. There are nine species in Cnemidophorus found in the U. S.

These busy little lizards are active during the day and zip along hunting insects and small animals. They like grasslands, shrublands, margins of rivers, streams, and lakes. Rocky habitat in these areas provides them places to hunt and hide.

This picture shows a female who is in the process of shedding her outer layer of skin. Lizards and snakes periodically slough off their outer scales after having grown an entire new layer beneath. In effect, they give themselves a new set of “clothes”.

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