Lepidophyma smithii

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Lepidophyma smithii
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Xantusiidae
Genus: Lepidophyma
Species:
L. smithii
Binomial name
Lepidophyma smithii
Bocourt, 1876

Lepidophyma smithii, Smith's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. [2] They live in small caves with scarce levels of food and nutrients. Due to their habitat, Lepidophyma smithii is rather elusive. Smith's tropical night lizard is an omnivore, with a diet consisting of mostly fig tree fruit and vegetation, and insects. These lizards confine their movement to remain within the shelter of their caves, and do not emerge in during the day or night. [3] All adult L.smithii are approximately 25 grams, but males have a slightly larger body size, wider heads and tails, and longer snouts, when compared to their female counterparts. [3] [4] Lepidophyma smithii reside in close quarters to other Lepidophyma species, often living via parapatric speciation. [5]

Reproduction

Xantusiidae are viviparous with internal syngamy. [6] The Lepidophyma genus has had three separate occurrences in which they have evolved obligate parthenogenesis without hybridization. Lepidophyma smithii is the only known species with this genus to reproduce through regular facultative parthenogenesis. The female tropical night lizards are able to simultaneously reproduce parthenogenetically and sexually within the same clutch. Female Lepidophyma smithii carry out regular facultative parthenogenesis, even when in excess supply of sperm. The male and female offspring of these clutches are both viable and fertile. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asexual reproduction</span> Reproduction without a sexual process

Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the full set of genes of their single parent and thus the newly created individual is genetically and physically similar to the parent or an exact clone of the parent. Asexual reproduction is the primary form of reproduction for single-celled organisms such as archaea and bacteria. Many eukaryotic organisms including plants, animals, and fungi can also reproduce asexually. In vertebrates, the most common form of asexual reproduction is parthenogenesis, which is typically used as an alternative to sexual reproduction in times when reproductive opportunities are limited. Komodo dragons and some monitor lizards can reproduce asexually.

<i>Lepidophyma</i> Genus of lizards

Lepidophyma is a genus of lizards, commonly called tropical night lizards. The genus Lepidophyma is one of three genera of night lizards, which are a group of viviparous (live-bearing) lizards. There are 20 species of tropical night lizards in the genus Lepidophyma, making it the most populous night lizard genus. Species of the genus Lepidophyma are distributed throughout Central America, found anywhere from central Mexico to Panama, depending on the particular species. Tropical night lizards, particularly the yellow-spotted species, are sometimes called Central American bark lizards by pet dealers and owners.

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

The desert night lizard is a night lizard native to the Southern California Eastern Sierra and the San Gabriel Mountains into Baja California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and extreme western areas of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelytoky</span> Type of parthenogenesis in which females are produced from unfertilized eggs

Thelytoky is a type of parthenogenesis and is the absence of mating and subsequent production of all female diploid offspring as for example in aphids. Thelytokous parthenogenesis is rare among animals and reported in about 1,500 species, about 1 in 1000 of described animal species, according to a 1984 study. It is more common in invertebrates, like arthropods, but it can occur in vertebrates, including salamanders, fish, and reptiles such as some whiptail lizards.

<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 embryos occur in a gamete without combining with another gamete. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-spotted tropical night lizard</span> Species of lizard

The yellow-spotted tropical night lizard or yellow-spotted night lizard is a species of night lizard. The species is distributed from central Mexico, through Central America, south to Panama. It includes two subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speckled cockroach</span> Species of cockroach

The speckled cockroach, lobster cockroach, or (small) cinereous cockroach is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae. It is the sole species in the genus Nauphoeta.

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.

Lepidophyma chicoasensis, the Sumidero tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Sumidero Canyon in Chiapas, Mexico, at 600 meters elevation.

Lepidophyma dontomasi, MacDougall's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is known only from the type locality on Cerro Lachiguiri in Oaxaca state, where it was collected at 2200 meters elevation. It may be more widespread.

Lepidophyma lineri, Liner's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is native to the Sierra de Miahuatlán, a sub-range of the Sierra Madre del Sur in south-central Oaxaca.

Lepidophyma lipetzi, Lipetz's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico.

Lepidophyma lowei, Lowe's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is known only from San Bartolome Zoogocho, in Zoogocho Municipality, in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Oaxaca state at 2,200 meters elevation.

Lepidophyma mayae, the Mayan tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize.

Lepidophyma micropholis, the cave tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is native to caves in the Sierra del Abra Tanchipa, part of the Sierra Madre Oriental in eastern San Luis Potosí and adjacent southern Tamaulipas states.

Lepidophyma occulor, the Japlan tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. This species is native to the Valle de Jalpan in the Sierra Madre Oriental of northern Querétaro and adjacent San Luis Potosí states, from 900 to 1,400 meters elevation.

Lepidophyma pajapanensis, the Pajapan tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is native to the coastal Sierra de los Tuxtlas, and to the southeast near Jesús Carranza on the Coatzacoalcos River in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It ranges from sea level up to 1,500 meters elevation.

<i>Lepidophyma reticulatum</i> Species of lizard

Lepidophyma reticulatum, the Costa Rican tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Costa Rica and Panama.

<i>Lepidophyma sylvaticum</i> Species of lizard

Lepidophyma sylvaticum, the Madrean tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico.

<i>Lepidophyma tuxtlae</i> Species of lizard

Lepidophyma tuxtlae, the Tuxtla tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is native to the Sierra de los Tuxtlas in coastal Veracruz and south and west into northern Oaxaca, southern Veracruz, and northern Chiapas. It is found from 150 to 1,500 meters elevation.

References

  1. Acevedo, M.; Canseco-Márquez, L.; Aguayo, A.G (2013). "Lepidophyma smithii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T197496A2490678. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T197496A2490678.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Lepidophyma smithii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 20 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 Mautz, William J.; Lopez-Forment, William (1978). "Observations on the Activity and Diet of the Cavernicolous Lizard Lepidophyma smithii (Sauria: Xantusiidae)". Herpetologica. 34 (3): 311–313. ISSN   0018-0831. JSTOR   3891559.
  4. 1 2 Kratochvíl, Lukáš; Vukić, Jasna; Červenka, Jan; Kubička, Lukáš; Johnson Pokorná, Martina; Kukačková, Dominika; Rovatsos, Michail; Piálek, Lubomír (November 2020). "Mixed-sex offspring produced via cryptic parthenogenesis in a lizard". Molecular Ecology. 29 (21): 4118–4127. doi:10.1111/mec.15617. ISSN   1365-294X. PMID   32881125.
  5. Smith, Hobart M. (1973). "A Tentative Rearrangement of the Lizards of the Genus Lepidophyma". Journal of Herpetology. 7 (2): 109–123. doi:10.2307/1563208. ISSN   0022-1511. JSTOR   1563208.
  6. Bezy, Robert L.; Goldberg, Stephen R. (2015). "Reproduction in night lizards (Xantusia)" (PDF). Sonoran Herpetologist. 28 (1).