Prairie racerunner

Description:

This quick moving lizard is long and slender. It has six or seven light stripes extending from the head onto the tail. The dorsal scales are granular and are non-overlapping. During the breeding season the male's belly has a bluish cast. The base of the mail's tail is larger, it has a broader head, and the femoral pores on the underside of the thigh are more obvious than in the female. A newborn has a blue tail. (taken from "A Field Guide to Oklahoma's Amphibians and Reptiles")

Habitat:

Dry, open, sunny areas. They especially prefer sandy areas.

Notes:

This is one of the few reptiles that is always active in the hottest parts of the Oklahoma summer. This particular specimen was stalking a grasshopper nymph in the genus Shistocerca. I wish the images were better but I was crouched down and shooting underneath a spiny bush.