You are here » home › advanced search › Aspidoscelis laredoensis

Aspidoscelis laredoensis (MCKINNEY, KAY & ANDERSON, 1973)

IUCN Red List - Aspidoscelis laredoensis - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Aspidoscelis laredoensis?

Add your own observation of
Aspidoscelis laredoensis »

We have no photos, try to find some by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaTeiidae, Teiinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Laredo Striped Whiptail
S: Llanera de Laredo 
SynonymCnemidophorus laredoensis MCKINNEY, KAY & ANDERSON 1973
Cnemidophorus laredoensis — MASLIN & SECOY 1986
Cnemidophorus laredoensis — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 121
Cnemidophorus laredoensis — LINER 1994
Aspidoscelis laredoensis — REEDER et al. 2002
Aspidoscelis laredoensis — LINER & CASAS-ANDREU 2008 
DistributionUSA (S Texas), Mexico (N Tamaulipas)

Type locality: “Chacon Creek at highway U.S. 83 in Laredo, Webb County, Texas [USA]."  
ReproductionOviparous. Parthenogenetic species. Apparently a hybrid between female C. gularis and male C. sexlineatus (Abuhteba et al. 2000). 34026 
TypesHolotype: USNM 194520, adult female, National Museum of Natural History, collected by F.R. Kay and R.A. Anderson, 14 July 1971. Paratype: TNHC 41209-22 
DiagnosisDiagnosis. Cnemidophorus laredoensisis a medium sized lizard (x̅ snout-vent length = 67.9mm, range 58-89 mm) belonging to the sexlineatus group as defined by Duellman and Zweifel (1962). It is distinctive from the other species groups by having three parietals, two frontoparietals, four enlarged supraoculars, slightly enlarged postantebrachials, and the young are completely striped with spots confined to the dark interspaces. Within the sexlineatus species group, C. laredoensis is distinctive from the other species by having a distinct, single, narrow, cream or white-colored vertebral stripe and distinct paravertebral, dorsolateral, and lateral stripes with ai dark green or greenish-brown background color between the stripes. Small faded or indistinct spots are usually found between the lateral and dorsolateral stripes on the posterior one-third to one-half of the body. Similar spots are also occasionally found posteriorly between the paravertebral and dorsolateral stripes. The dorsal surface of the hindlegs has a semi-reticulated pattern of cream-colored irregular lines. The entire venter is immaculately white. The tail is greenish-brown on top and the dorsolateral stripes extend out about one-third the length of the tail. The ventral surface of the tail is light tan. The postantebrachial scales are slightly enlarged. Also no males have been collected (McKinney et al. 1973).

Morphological Comparisons. Lowe and Wright (1966) proposed that some unisexual Cnemidophorus arose by hybridization between two bisexual species. This hypothesis requires that the supposed parental species must be sympatric or have been sympatric at one time or be parapatric. Only four Cnemidophorus species (C. gularis, C. inornatus, C. septemvittatus, C. sexlineatus) belonging to the sexlineatus species group occur near Laredo, Texas. Only three (C. gularis, C. septemvittatus, and C. sexlineatus) possess morphological and color characteristics that indicate they might be representative parental species. Hence, only these latter three species were examined morphologically in detail. See also Table 2 for comparisons (McKinney et al. 1973). 
Comment 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. 
References
  • Abuhteba, R.M.; Walker, J.M. & Cordes, J.E. 2000. Genetic homogeneity based on skin histocompatibility and the evolution and systematics of parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Sauria: Teiidae). Can. J. Zool. 78: 895-904 - get paper here
  • Bartlett, R. D. & Bartlett, P. 1999. A Field Guide to Texas Reptiles and Amphibians. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas, 331 pp.
  • Bickham, J.W., McKinney,C.O. & Matthews,M.F. 1976. Karyotypes of the parthenogenetics whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus laredoensis) and its presumed parental species (Sauria: Teiidae). Herpetologica 32: 395-399 - get paper here
  • Cole, CJ, Dessauer, HC, Paulissen, MA, Walker, JM 2020. Hybridization between Whiptail Lizards in Texas: Aspidoscelis laredoensis and A. Gularis, with Notes on Reproduction of a Hybrid. American Museum Novitates 3947: - get paper here
  • Collins, J.T. and T. W. Taggart 2009. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Sixth Edition. Center for North American Herpetology, 48 pp.
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Cordes, James E. and James M. Walker 2006. Evolutionary and Systematic Implications of Skin Histocompatibility Among Parthenogenetic Teiid Lizards: Three Color Pattern Classes of Aspidoscelis dixoni and One of Aspidoscelis tesselata. Copeia, 2006 (1):14-26 - get paper here
  • CORDES, JAMES E.; JAMES M. WALKER, BRIAN K. SULLIVAN, MARK A. PAULISSEN & TOBY J. HIBBITTS. 2022. ASPIDOSCELIS LAREDOENSIS (Laredo Striped Whiptail). TAIL AUTOTOMY and PREDATOR ESCAPE. Herpetological Review 53(2): 319.
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas, second edition. Texas A&M University Press, 421 pp.
  • McCrystal, Hugh K.;Dean, Robert H.;Dixon, James R. 1985. Range extension for the whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Teiidae). Texas Journal of Science 36 (4): 283-284 - get paper here
  • McKinney,C.O., Kay,F.R. and Anderson,R.A. 1973. A new all-female species of the genus Cnemidophorus. Herpetologica 29: 361-366 - get paper here
  • Paulissen M A. WALKER J M. CORDES J E. 1992. Can Parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Teiidae) coexist with its bisexual congeners? Journal of Herpetology 26 (2): 153-158. - get paper here
  • Paulissen, M. A.;Walker, J. M.;Cordes, J. E. 1988. Ecology of syntopic clones of the parthenogenetic whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus 'laredoensis'. Journal of Herpetology 22 (3): 331-342 - get paper here
  • Paulissen, Mark A ; Walker, James M 1998. Cnemidophorus laredoensis McKinney, Kay, and Anderson. Laredo Striped Whiptail. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 673: 1-5 - get paper here
  • Paulissen, Mark A. 1995. Sexual and pseudosexual behaviors of the unisexual lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis in nature. Herpetological Natural History 3 (2): 165-170
  • Paulissen, Mark A. 2000. Life history and drought tolerance of the parthenogenetic whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Teiidae). Herpetological Natural History 7(1):41-57
  • PERSONS, T. B 2020. Aspidoscelis Laredoensis (Laredo Striped Whiptail). Apparent Population Decline. Herpetological Review 51: 119-120.
  • REEDER, T.W.; CHARLES J. COLE AND HERBERT C. DESSAUER 2002. Phylogenetic Relationships of Whiptail Lizards of the Genus Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae): A Test of Monophyly, Reevaluation of Karyotypic Evolution, and Review of Hybrid Origins. American Museum Novitates 3365: 1-64 - get paper here
  • Terán-Juárez, Sergio A., Elí García Padilla, Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson and Larry David Wilson. 2016. The herpetofauna of Tamaulipas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (1): 43–113 - get paper here
  • Trauth, Stanley E., James E. Cordes, Mark A. Paulissen and James M. Walker. 2013. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo striped whiptail) x Aspidoscelis gularis (Texas spotted whiptail) stomach contents. Herpetological Review 44 (4): 666 - get paper here
  • Trauth, Stanley E., James E. Cordes, Mark A. Paulissen and James M. Walker. 2013. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo striped whiptail) x Aspidoscelis gularis (Texas spotted whiptail) differential rate of hybridization. Herpetological Review 44 (4): 664-666 - get paper here
  • Trauth, Stanley E., James M. Walker and James E. Cordes. 2013. Aspidoscelis laredoensis x Aspidoscelis gularis (Laredo striped whiptail x Texas spotted whiptail) spermatogenesis. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 316-318 - get paper here
  • Trauth, Stanley E., James M. Walker and James E. Cordes. 2013. Aspidoscelis laredoensis x Aspidoscelis gularis (Laredo striped whiptail x Texas spotted whiptail) hybrid gynandromorph. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 314-316 - get paper here
  • Walker, J M; 2019. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo Striped Whiptail) Population structure and reproduction. Herpetological Review 50 (2): 365-366 - get paper here
  • WALKER, J. M., AND J. E. CORDES 2020. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo Striped Whiptail). Armwaving. Herpetological Review 51: 120-121.
  • Walker, James M., James E. Cordes, Stanley E. Trauth and Mark A. Paulissen. 2014. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Larego striped whiptail) x Aspidoscelis gularis (Texas spotted whiptail) maximum body size. Herpetological Review 45 (1): 125-126 - get paper here
  • Walker, James M., Stanley E. Trauth and James E. Cordes. 2015. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo striped whiptail) reproduction and life history. Herpetological Review 46 (1): 87-89 - get paper here
  • Walker, James M.; James E. Cordes, and Mark A. Paulissen 2016. Rare Syntopy of the Diploid Parthenogenetic Lizard (Aspidoscelis laredoensis B) and both Gonochoristic Progenitors (A. gularis and A. sexlineata) in Texas, USA. Herp. Cons. Biol. 11 (1) - get paper here
  • Walker,J.M., Abuhteba,R.M. & Cordes,J.E. 1991. Morphological and experimental verification of hybridization between all-female Cnemidophorus laredoensis B and gonochoristic Cnemidophorus gularis (Squamata:Teiidae). Herpetologica 47 (2): 152-164 - get paper here
  • Weidler, J M 2019. Protected areas of Texas in relation to Texas reptiles. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 462-473 - get paper here
  • Wright, J. W.; Spolsky, C.; Brown, W. M. 1983. The origin of the parthenogenetic lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis inferred from mitochondrial DNA analysis. Herpetologica 39 (4): 410-416 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator