Western whiptail

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Western whiptail
California Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris).JPG
California whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris munda)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Aspidoscelis
Species:
A. tigris
Binomial name
Aspidoscelis tigris
(Baird & Girard, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Cnemidophorus tigrisBaird & Girard, 1852

The western whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris) 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 ( Aspidoscelis tesselatus ) 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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Including the nominotypical subspecies, 16 subspecies of Aspidoscelis tigris are recognized as being valid. [2]

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

Subspecies etymology

The subspecific names, dickersonae, stejnegeri, and vandenburghi, are in honor of American herpetologists Mary Cynthia Dickerson, Leonhard Stejneger, and John Van Denburgh, respectively. [3]

Description

A. t. multiscutatus Western whiptail at the Nevada Test Site.jpg
A. t. multiscutatus

The western whiptail has a long and slender body, small grainy scales on its back, and larger rectangular scales on its belly. The upper side often has light stripes, and the throat can be pinkish or somewhat orange in adults. The maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) is 102 mm (about 4 inches), and maximum total length (including tail) is 305 mm (about 12 inches). [4] Hatchlings are orange-yellow with dark brown-black spots or stripes. [5] [6]

Distribution and habitat

The western whiptail is widespread throughout northern Mexico and the western United States. In the US it can be found in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. [7] It is found in hot dry regions, typically with sparse foliage. It can live in woodland, chaparral, riparian areas, or desert. Desert subspecies prefer habitat with vegetation such as sagebrush or shadscale, and rely on burrows to escape the desert heat. [8] [9] [10]

In the northern parts of its range, the western whiptail usually emerges from hibernation in May, and most adults aestivate during the midsummer months, but in the south it is active from April through late August. The seasonal period of activity is therefore considerably shorter in the north. Daily periods of activity are of similar duration from north to south, although the time of emergence tends to be later in northern areas.

Behaviour and ecology

Reproduction

The western whiptail's chromosomes show that it is polyploid. It is also a bisexual species, containing both males and females, unlike other species of Aspidoscelis which are all-female. Usually in the northern end of its range, mating occurs in the first half of June, and females begin to lay eggs in late June. The eggs usually begin hatching by mid-August. Females will only lay one clutch (number of eggs laid at a single time) per year. At the southern end of its range, however, females will begin to lay eggs as early as May, and the eggs will usually hatch as early as mid-June. In the southern end of its range, females may also lay two clutches per year instead of just one. [9] [11] [12]

Diet

The western whiptail mostly eats insects, spiders, scorpions, lepidopterans, crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles. They use their jaws instead of their tongue to capture their prey. [8] [13]

Tail drop

When being attacked by a predator, the western whiptail will drop its tail. The muscles in the tail will continue contracting causing the tail to flop around. This is used to distract the predator from the lizard. However, this is a last ditch effort. It is very stressful for the lizard. It takes a lot of energy to regrow the tail, and the lizard loses a lot of stored food. This is a tactic often used when the lizard is threatened by a domestic or feral cat. [8]


Related Research Articles

<i>Aspidoscelis</i> Genus of lizards

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

<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 prey on A. uniparens by using ambush and stalk haunting 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.

<i>Holbrookia maculata</i> Species of lizard

Holbrookia maculata, commonly known as the lesser earless lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern and central United States and northern Mexico. There are eight recognized subspecies.

<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">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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico whiptail</span> Species of reptile

The New Mexico whiptail is a female-only species of lizard found in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Arizona, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua. It is the official state reptile of New Mexico. 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 and the western whiptail, or through the parthenogenetic reproduction of an adult New Mexico whiptail.

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">Canyon spotted whiptail</span> Species of lizard

The canyon spotted whiptail is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to northwestern Mexico and the adjacent southwestern United States.

<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 danheimae, also known commonly as the Isla San José whiptail, the San Jose Island blue-throated whiptail, and el huico de la Isla San José in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to Isla San José in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

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

  1. Hammerson, G.A.; Frost, D.R.; Santos-Barrera, G. (2007). "Aspidoscelis tigris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T64290A12754666. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64290A12754666.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "Aspidoscelis tigris ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Aspidoscelis tigris dickersonae, p. 72; A. t. stejnegeri, p. 252; "Van Denburgh", p. 271).
  4. Smith, Hobart M.; Brodie, Edmund D. Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN   0-307-13666-3. (Cnemidophorus tigris, pp. 96-97).
  5. Hammerson, G.A. (1982). Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado. Denver: Colorado Division of Wildlife. vii + 131 pp.
  6. Cole, Charles J.; Painter, Charles W.; Dessauer, Herbert C.; Taylor, Harry L. (2007). "Hybridization Between the Endangered Unisexual Gray-Checkered Whiptail Lizard (Aspidoscelis dixoni) and the Bisexual Western Whiptail Lizard (Aspidoscelis tigris) in Southwestern New Mexico". American Museum Novitates 3555.1: 1-31. Web.
  7. "California Whiptail - Aspidoscelis tigris munda ". www.californiaherps.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  8. 1 2 3 Pianka, Eric R. (1970). "Comparative autecology of the lizard Cnemidophorus tigris in different parts of its geographic range". Ecology. 51 (4): 703–720. doi:10.2307/1934053. JSTOR   1934053.
  9. 1 2 Burkholder, Gary L.; Walker, J.M. (1973). "Habitat and Reproduction of the desert whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus tigris Baird and Girard in southwestern Idaho at the northern part of its range". Herpetologica. 29 (1): 76–83. JSTOR   3891208.
  10. McCoy, C.J. (1965). Life history and ecology of Cnemidophorus tigris septentrionalis. Ph.D. thesis, University of Colorado, Boulder.
  11. Vitt, Laurie J. (1977). "Ecology and Reproduction of Lower Colorado River Lizards: II. Cnemidophorus tigris (Teiidae), with Comparisons". Herpetologica 33.2: 223-234. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
  12. Goldberg, Stephen R.; Lowe, Charles H. (1966). "The Reproductive Cycle of the Western Whiptail Lizard (Cnemidophorus tigris) in Southern Arizona". Journal of Morphology 118.4: 543-548. Web.
  13. Anderson, Roger A. (1988). "Energetics of the Lizard Cnemidophorus tigris and Life History Consequences of Food-Acquisition Mode". Ecological Monographs 58.2: 79-110. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Further reading