New Mexico whiptail

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New Mexico whiptail
New Mexico Whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicana) - Flickr - GregTheBusker.jpg
New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Aspidoscelis
Species:
A. neomexicanus
Binomial name
Aspidoscelis neomexicanus
Lowe & Zweifel, 1952
Synonyms

Cnemidophorus perplexus
Baird & Girard, 1852
Cnemidophorus neomexicanus
Lowe & Zweifel, 1952

The New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus) is a female-only species of lizard found in New Mexico and Arizona in the southwestern United States, and in Chihuahua in northern Mexico. It is the official state reptile of New Mexico. [2] It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenetic. Individuals of the species can be created either through the hybridization of the little striped whiptail ( A. inornatus ) and the western whiptail ( A. tigris ), [3] or through the parthenogenetic reproduction of an adult New Mexico whiptail.

The hybridization of these species prevents healthy males from forming, whereas males exist in one parent species (see Sexual differentiation). Parthenogenesis allows the all-female population to reproduce. This combination of interspecific hybridization and parthenogenesis exists as a reproductive strategy in several species of whiptail lizard within the genus Aspidoscelis to which the New Mexico whiptail belongs.

Description

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. Light colored spots often occur between the stripes. They have a white or pale blue underside, with a blue or blue-green colored throat. 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.

Behavior

Like most other whiptail lizards, the New Mexico whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. 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 New Mexico whiptail lizard is a crossbreed of a western whiptail, which lives in the desert, and the little striped whiptail, which favors grasslands. The whiptail engages in mating behavior with other females of its own species, giving rise to the nickname "lesbian lizards". [4] [5] A common theory is that this behavior stimulates ovulation, as those that do not "mate" do not lay eggs. [6]

See also

Footnotes

  1. Hammerson, G.A.; Lavin, P.; Vazquez Díaz, J.; Quintero Díaz, G.; Gadsden, H. (2007). "Aspidoscelis neomexicana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T64278A12752324. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64278A12752324.en . Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  2. "Chapter VIII. New Mexico state animals" (PDF). New Mexico Envirothon. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  3. Lowe, Charles H.; Wright, John W. (1966). "Evolution of parthenogenetic species of Cnemidophorus (whiptail lizards) in western North America". Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science. 4 (2): 81–87. JSTOR   40022375.
  4. "BBC Two - Battle of the Sexes - In the Animal World, THE RIDDLE OF SEX, Lesbian lizards". BBC. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  5. Spinney, Kimberley (2015-06-15). "Lesbian Lizards a Hybrid Species Out of New Mexico". Guardian Liberty Voice. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  6. Crews, David (1987). "Courtship in unisexual lizards: A model for brain evolution". Scientific American. 257 (6): 116–121. Bibcode:1987SciAm.257f.116C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1287-116. JSTOR   24979584.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teiidae</span> Family of lizards

Teiidae is a family of autarchoglossan lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae, and both families comprise the Teiioidea. The Teiidae includes several parthenogenic species – a mode of clonal reproduction. Presently, the Teiidae consists of approximately 150 species in eighteen genera.

<i>Cnemidophorus</i> Genus of lizards

Cnemidophorus is a genus of lizards in the family Teiidae. Species in the genus Cnemidophorus are commonly referred to as whiptail lizards or racerunners. The genus is endemic to South America, Central America, and the West Indies.

<i>Aspidoscelis</i> Genus of lizards

Aspidoscelis is a genus of whiptail lizards in the family Teiidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The western whiptail is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is found throughout most of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most of its populations appear stable, and it is not listed as endangered in any of the states comprising its range. It lives in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts and semiarid shrubland, usually in areas with sparse vegetation; it also may be found in woodland, open dry forest, and riparian growth. It lives in burrows. Major differences between this species and the checkered whiptail include the lack of enlarged scales anterior to the gular fold and the presence of enlarged postantebrachial scales. It was previously known as Cnemidophorus tigris, until phylogenetic analyses concluded that the genus Cnemidophorus was polyphyletic. Since it does not migrate, a number of forms have developed in different regions, several of which have been given subspecific names – for example the California whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris munda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert grassland whiptail lizard</span> Species of lizard

The desert grassland whiptail lizard is an all-female species of reptiles in North America. It was formerly placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. A common predator of the whiptail lizard is the leopard lizard that preys on A. uniparens by using ambush and stalk hunting tactics. These reptiles reproduce by parthenogenesis. In this process, eggs undergo a chromosome doubling after meiosis, developing into lizards without being fertilized. However, ovulation is enhanced by female-female courtship and mating (pseudo-copulation) rituals that resemble the behavior of closely related species that reproduce sexually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange-throated whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The orange-throated whiptail is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species was previously placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas spotted whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The Texas spotted whiptail is a species of long-tailed lizard, in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to the south central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Six subspecies are recognized as being valid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray checkered whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The gray checkered whiptail, also known commonly as Dixon's whiptail and the gray-checkered whiptail, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to northern Mexico, and to the United States in southern New Mexico and western Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuan spotted whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The Chihuahuan spotted whiptail is a species of lizard native to the United States in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas, and northern Mexico in northern Chihuahua and northern Sonora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laredo striped whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The Laredo striped whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southern United States, in Texas, and northern Mexico in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. Some sources believe it to be the result of extensive hybridization between the Texas spotted whiptail, Aspidoscelis gularis and the six-lined racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineatus. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic.

The marbled whiptail is a species of lizard found in the United States, in southern New Mexico and Texas, and in northern Mexico, in Coahuila, Chihuahua and Durango.

The plateau spotted whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southern United States in Texas, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is known to hybridize with the Eastern Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidophorus gularis, but is considered to be a distinct species due to phenotypic characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common checkered whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The checkered whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southwestern United States in Colorado, Texas and New Mexico, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua and Coahuila. Many sources believe that the species originated from the hybridization of the marbled whiptail, Aspidoscelis marmorata, the plateau spotted whiptail, Aspidoscelis septemvittata, and possibly the six-lined racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineata. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic. It is sometimes referred to as the common checkered whiptail to differentiate it from several other species known as checkered whiptails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six-lined racerunner</span> Species of lizard

The six-lined racerunner is a species of lizard native to the United States and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little striped whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The little striped whiptail is a species of lizard found in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. A significant amount of research was done on the species during the mid-1990s, with several new subspecies being added, many of which some sources consider to be distinct enough to warrant full species status, and the research is ongoing. It is called little to distinguish it from many other species known as striped whiptails and to indicate that it is the smallest of those species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-Pecos striped whiptail</span> Subspecies of lizard

The Trans-Pecos striped whiptail is a subspecies of the little striped whiptail lizard. It is found in the semiarid, sandy habitats of the Chihuahuan Desert, in the United States from West Texas across southern New Mexico to Arizona, as well as northern Mexico. It is sometimes referred to as the Arizona striped whiptail or seven-striped whiptail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parthenogenesis</span> Asexual reproduction without fertilization

Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of an embryo occur directly from an egg, without need for fertilisation. In animals, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. In plants, parthenogenesis is a component process of apomixis. In algae, parthenogenesis can mean the development of an embryo from either an individual sperm or an individual egg.

Parthenogenesis is a mode of asexual reproduction in which offspring are produced by females without the genetic contribution of a male. Among all the sexual vertebrates, the only examples of true parthenogenesis, in which all-female populations reproduce without the involvement of males, are found in squamate reptiles. There are about 50 species of lizard and 1 species of snake that reproduce solely through parthenogenesis. It is unknown how many sexually reproducing species are also capable of parthenogenesis in the absence of males, but recent research has revealed that this ability is widespread among squamates.

<i>Aspidoscelis costatus</i> Species of lizard

Aspidoscelis costatus, also known as the western Mexico whiptail, is a species of whiptail lizard endemic to Mexico, including Guerrero, Morelos, and Puebla in southern Mexico, as well as other Mexican states. Its range spans both temperate and tropical habitats, and even densely populated urban areas. Its common name, the Western Mexico Whiptail, can easily be confused with the Western Whiptail, which refers to a different lizard, Aspidoscelis tigris.

Aspidoscelis rodecki, also known commonly as Rodeck's whiptail, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to Mexico.

References