Aspidoscelis arizonae (VAN DENBURGH, 1896)
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Aspidoscelis arizonae
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| Higher Taxa | Teiidae, Teiinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Aspidoscelis arizonae arizonae (VAN DENBURGH 1896) Aspidoscelis arizonae chihuahuae (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Aspidoscelis arizonae cienegae (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Aspidoscelis arizonae gypsi (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Aspidoscelis arizonae heptagrammus (AXTELL 1961) Aspidoscelis arizonae juniperus (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Aspidoscelis arizonae pai (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Aspidoscelis arizonae llanuras (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) |
| Common Names | E: Arizona Striped Whiptail E: Little White Whiptail [gypsi] E: Trans-Pecos Striped Whiptail [heptagrammus] E: Pai Striped Whiptail [pai] E: Woodland Striped Whiptail [juniperus] E: Plains Striped Whiptail [llanuras] |
| Synonym | Cnemidophorus arizonae VAN DENBURGH 1896: 344 Cnemidophorus arizonae — VAN DENBURGH 1913 Cnemidophorus inornatus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 184 Cnemidophorus inornatus arizonae — WRIGHT & LOWE 1965 Cnemidophorus inornatus arizonae — MASLIN & SECOY 1986 Cnemidophorus inornatus arizonae — WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 137 Cnemidophorus arizonae — CROTHER 2000 Aspidoscelis inornata arizonae — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis arizonae — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009 Aspidoscelis inornata arizonae — COLE et al. 2010 Aspidoscelis arizonae — JONES & LOVICH 2009 Aspidoscelis arizonae — LEMOS-ESPINAL 2015 Aspidoscelis inornata arizonae — CROTHER et al. 2017 Aspidoscelis arizonae — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae — BEZY 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae arizonae — NICHOLSON et al. 2025 Aspidoscelis arizonae chihuahuae (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus chihuahuae WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 137 Aspidoscelis inornata chihuahuae — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis inornata chihuahuae — LINER & CASAS-ANDREU 2008 Aspidoscelis arizonae chihuahuae — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae cienegae (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus cienegae WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 139 Aspidoscelis inornata cienegae — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis inornata cienegae — LINER & CASAS-ANDREU 2008 Aspidoscelis inornata cienegae — GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ et al. 2019 Aspidoscelis arizonae cienegae — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae gypsi (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus gypsi WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 140 Cnemidophorus gypsi — CROTHER 2000 Aspidoscelis inornata gypsi — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis gypsi — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009 Aspidoscelis inornata gypsi — CROTHER et al. 2012 Aspidoscelis gypsi — JONES & LOVICH 2009 Aspidoscelis gypsi — LEMOS-ESPINAL 2015 Aspidoscelis arizonae gypsi — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae gypsi — NICHOLSON et al. 2025 Aspidoscelis arizonae heptagrammus (AXTELL 1961) Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus AXTELL 1961: 151 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus — MASLIN & SECOY 1986 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus — TANNER 1987 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 123 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus — CROTHER 2000 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptogrammus — DIXON 2000 Aspidoscelis inornata heptagramma — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis inornata heptagramma — LINER & CASAS-ANDREU 2008 Cnemidophorus inornatus heptagrammus — AKERET 2010 Aspidoscelis inornata heptagramma — CROTHER et al. 2012 Aspidoscelis arizonae heptagrammus — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis inornatus heptagrammus — LIEB 2023 Aspidoscelis arizonae heptagrammus — NICHOLSON et al. 2025 Aspidoscelis arizonae juniperus (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus juniperus WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 146 Aspidoscelis inornata juniperus — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis inornata junipera — COLLINS & TAGGART 2012 Aspidoscelis inornata junipera — CROTHER et al. 2012 Aspidoscelis arizonae juniperus — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae pai (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus llanuras WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 148 Aspidoscelis inornata llanuras — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis inornata llanuras — LINER & CASAS-ANDREU 2008 Aspidoscelis inornata llanuras — CROTHER et al. 2012 Aspidoscelis arizonae llanuras — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae pai (WRIGHT & LOWE 1993) Cnemidophorus inornatus pai WRIGHT & LOWE 1993: 149 Cnemidophorus pai — CROTHER 2000 Aspidoscelis inornata pai — REEDER et al. 2002 Aspidoscelis pai — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009 Aspidoscelis pai — SULLIVAN in JONES & LOVICH 2009 Aspidoscelis arizonae pai — BARLEY et al. 2021 Aspidoscelis arizonae pai — NICHOLSON et al. 2025 |
| Distribution | USA (SE Arizona) Type locality: Fairbank, Cochise County, Arizona (fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950) chihuahuae: Mexico (Chihuahua); Type locality: 8.1 miles east of Ciudad Chihuahua,1440 meters elevevation, Chihuahua, Mexico. cienegae: Mexico (Coahuila); Type locality: 13.9 km SW of Cuatro Cienegas de Carranza, point of San Marcos Mtn., Coahuila, Mexico. juniperus: USA (New Mexico); Type locality: San Pedro Creek, 3 miles north and 2 miles east of San Antonio, 4550 ft, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. llanuras: USA (New Mexico); Type locality: Carthage, 4990 ft, Socorro County, New Mexico. gypsi: USA (New Mexico) heptagrammus: USA (W Texas, New Mexico); Mexico (Coahuila); Type locality: “30° 11’ 30" N, 103° 09' W, 5 mi ESE Marathon, Brewster County, Texas. Elevation 4,150 feet." pai: USA (Arizona); Type locality: Hermit Basin in Grand Canyon, 4800 ft elevation, Coconino County, Arizona |
| Reproduction | Oviparous. Lutes et al. (2011) report the generation of four self-sustaining clonal lineages of a tetraploid species resulting from fertilization of triploid oocytes from a parthenogenetic Aspidoscelis exsanguis with haploid sperm from Aspidoscelis inornata.<br /><br />Hybridization: Aspidoscelis inornata arizonae and A. tigris marmorata hybridized in captivity (COLE et al. 2010). A cross between Aspidoscelis exsanguis (triploid parthenogen) × Aspidoscelis inornata (diploid bisexual or gonochoristic species) resulted in a “new” species, A. neavesi. Similarly, A. priscillae is a tetraploid all-female species originated in the laboratory from hybridization between Aspidoscelis uniparens (triploid parthenogen) and Aspidoscelis inornatus (diploid bisexual species).<br /><br />Aspidoscelis neavesi COLE et al 2014 is the first known tetraploid amniote that reproduces through parthenogenetic cloning by individual females. Aspidoscelis neavesi originated through hybridization between Aspidoscelis exsanguis (triploid parthenogen) × Aspidoscelis inornata (diploid bisexual or gonochoristic species) in the laboratory. Cole et al. 2014 speculate that field-caught tetraploids may be found in the future. Similarly, Aspidoscelis priscillae COLE et al. 2017 is a tetraploid all-female species originated in the laboratory from hybridization between Aspidoscelis uniparens (triploid parthenogen) and Aspidoscelis inornatus (diploid bisexual species). Given that these “species” have not been found in nature, we do not list them as regular species for the time being. |
| Types | Holotype: CAS 2631 (originally CAS-SUR 2631 = Stanford Univ. 2631, fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950) Holotype: UAZ (University of Arizona, Departmentof Zoology) No. 16187 [gypsi] Holotype: private collection, RWA 1758, adult male [heptagrammus] Holotype: UAZ 5510 (University of Arizona, Zoology) [pai] |
| Diagnosis | Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions are available for collaborators and contributors. We will relaease that material sometime next year. Please contact us if you need any of this data earlier than that. |
| Comment | Subspecies: Wright & Lowe (1993) described five new U. S. races, arizonae, gypsi, and pai (all allopatric), and juniperus and llanurus (both parapatric). Collins (1997), presented the conclusions of Wright & Lowe (1993) and Walker et al. (1997) to lizard systematist group, composed of Robert Bezy, Charles J. Cole, Darrel Arnold Kluge, Jimmy McGuire, Richard Montanucci, Robert Powell, and John Wiens, and the majority of those individuals responding recommended juniperus and llanuras not be recognized, and that arizonae, gypsi, and pai all be considered distinct species. Sullivan et al. (2013) found that A. arizonae as indistinguishable from A. i. llanuras and concluded that either A. arizonae is a cryptic species or a peripheral isolate unworthy of species status. de Queiroz et al. in Crother (2017) considered the subspecies A. i. junipera and A. i. llanura to be junior synonyms of A. i. heptagramma. However, Reeder et al. (2002) considered arizonae, gypsi, juniperus and llanurus as subspecies of C. inornata. Rosenblum & Burkett (in Lovich & Jones 2009) state that gypsi and inornata are not distinguishable based on available genetic data. Finally, Barley et al. 2021 assigned chihuahuae, cienegae, juniperus, and llanuras to arizonae. Hybridization: Aspidoscelis (inornata) arizonae and A. (tigris) marmorata hybridized in captivity (COLE et al. 2010). A. marmoratus and A. tigris hybridize in a contact zone in SW New Mexico (Dessauer & Cole 1991). A. marmorata and A. arizonae are the parental species of the unisexual A. neomexicanus (Ho et al. 2025). Genome: Ho et al. 2025. RDB speciesID: 11226 [pai] |
| Etymology | A. a. arizonae was named after its type locality. A. a. chihuahuae was named after its type locality. A. a. cienegae was named after its type locality. A. a. juniperus appears to have been named after the junipers, trees and shrubs or the genus Juniperus that apparently occurs in the range of this subspecies. A. a. llanuras was apparently named after the plains (Spanish “llanuras”) in which this taxon occurs. A. a. gypsi: named after new Latin gypsum = "sands", for its type locality in the White Sands area of New Mexico. A. a. heptagrammus: from Greek hepta = seven, and Greek gramma = script, or graphic, referring to the seven light dorsal stripes. A. a. pai: Apparently named after the Pai Native Americans and their language. |
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