Its range spans both temperate and tropical habitats, and even densely populated urban areas.

A small lizard, up to only 4 inches SVL (snout to vent length), this striped lizard has a pointed snout, a slender body, a pair of long hind legs, and an extremely long tail.

Whiptails are diurnal but mostly solitary creatures, except during the breeding season, when males start accompanying females around.

They are aseen busy probing with their snouts under leaf-litter, in crevices, scratching in the ground, or digging furiously through piles of accumulated debris.

[5] When they are on the move under plants or through leaf-litter, their jerky bouts of start-stop movement create unique crunching sounds from disturbed dry leaves.

As a matter of fact, the seminal documentations of this species, particularly of some of its subspecies, go back to as early as 1959, albeit under different taxa.

The subspecies name of "zweifeli" is still kept to in honor of Dr. Zweifel, an American herpetologist, who contributed immensely to the documentation of the nowadays Aspidoscelis costata species.

[8][9][10] Western Mexico Whiptails have scaly skin with stripes, bowed legs, and pointed snout.

The gular (throat) region can have increased intensity of coloration that ranges from pink to red.

Most species of whiptail lizards prefer dry climates and seek out habitats in deserts.

Therefore, many species of whiptail lizards are found throughout Sonoran Desert, spanning northwestern Mexico and southern California, a region with sparse vegetation, such as sagebrush, low desert scrubs, grasslands, woodlands and pine forests.

Similarly, Aspidoscelis costatus prefers natural habitats such as savanna, and shrubland in brushy, broken country.

[4] One research paper suggested that global warming has affected the habitats of Western Mexico Whiptail lizard.

Smaller whiptails can heat and cool their bodies quickly so they are more comfortable in open areas even in the summer.

When they are on the move under plants or through leaf-litter, their jerky, start-stop movements create unique crunching switch sounds from disturbed dry leaves.

[14][15] About one third of whiptail lizards are parthenogenic, which is asexual reproduction by development from an ovum without fertilization, essentially cloning, but with strategies to create diversities.

And the male reproductive organs, called hemipenes, which come in a bilateral pair, are held inverted within the cloaca when not in use.

A male A. costatus would starts escorting a female whiptail around, guarding her, a behavior that is called accompaniment.

After hemipenis intromission is achieved, and doughnut posture is adopted, the mating pair is tangled motionless much like wrestlers in a hammerlock.

[21] Mate guarding can be costly for males due to the loss of energy from less food intake and increased aggressive behavior.

[19] Aggressive behavior is observed through, approaches, lunges, pursuit of enemies, back arching, fighting, and biting.

If mate guarding fails, the male companion is not displaced, but will face sperm competition.

Western Mexico whiptail lizard are oviparous (producing eggs that develop and hatch outside the maternal body).

[22] But in general, Aspidoscelis lizards, especially striped species such as costatus, tend to be active foragers, always in search of their prey.

The clutch is left to incubate under a most favorable environment, a moist and warm nest, with minimal temperature fluctuations under rocks, selected by the female lizard.

[13] When human visitors approach and they feel threatened, the lizards would burst into motion, run across the arid land and disappear behind the closest low scrubs or rock.

[24] According to Wilson et al. (2013), A. costatus scores a medium environmental vulnerability score principally due to its restricted distribution, and threats from intensive agriculture or human settlements., considerable habitat clearance and environmental disturbance in localized areas for human-modified habitats.

[2] Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Aspidoscelis.