The New Mexico whiptail grows from 6.5 to 9.1 in (16.5 to 23 cm) in length, and is typically overall brown or black in color with seven pale yellow stripes from head to tail.

They are slender bodied, with a long tail that is more commonly blue-green in their infant stage, melding into the same spotted brown and yellow color as they age.

They are found in a wide variety of semi-arid habitats, including grassland, rocky areas, shrubland, or mountainside woodlands.

Reproduction occurs through parthenogenesis, with up to four unfertilized eggs being laid in mid summer, and hatching approximately eight weeks later.

The whiptail engages in mating behavior with other females of its own species, giving rise to the nickname "lesbian lizards".