Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Plateau Striped Whiptail

Aspidoscelis velox

(Springer, 1928)

Plateau Striped Whiptail

G5Secure Found in 32 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101656
Element CodeARACJ02160
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyTeiidae
GenusAspidoscelis
Synonyms
Cnemidophorus veloxSpringer, 1928
Other Common Names
plateau striped whiptail (EN) Plateau Striped Whiptail (unisexual) (EN)
Concept Reference
Maslin, T. P., and D. M. Secoy. 1986. A checklist of the lizard genus Cnemidophorus. Contrib. Zool. Univ. Colorado Mus. (1):1-60.
Taxonomic Comments
From Crother (2017): Maslin and Secoy (1986) treated the name Aspidoscelis (sackii) innotata as a synonym of A. velox, but Wright (1993, in Wright and Vitt 1993) applied the name A. velox to populations of triploid parthenogens and treated A. innotata as the name of a separate diploid species. Cuellar (1977) found histoincompatibility (rejection of skin grafts) between A. velox-like lizards from Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, which Cuellar and Wright (1992) interpreted as potential evidence for different ploidy levels. The type locality of A. velox is in Arizona, while that of A. innotata is in Utah, and lizards from New Mexico are known to be triploid (Neaves 1969, Dessauer and Cole 1989). If lizards from the type locality of A. innotata turn out to be diploid, it would be reasonable to recognize a separate diploid species and apply the name A. innotata (Plateau Unspotted Whiptail) to it.

Reeder et al. (2002) examined phylogenetic relationships of the whiptail lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus based on a combined analysis of mitochondrial DNA, morphology, and allozymes. They determined that Cnemidophorus in the traditional sense is paraphyletic and thus in need of nomenclatural revision. Rather than subsume all cnemidophorine species (including Kentropyx) in a single large genus (Ameiva), they proposed a split that placed the North American "Cnemidophorus" clade in the monophyletic genus Aspidoscelis; under this arrangement, South American taxa remain in the genus Cnemidophorus.

Aspidoscelis velox arose through hybridization; parental species were A. inornata and either A. costata or A. burti stictogramma (Moritz et al. 1989).
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-08-31
Change Date1996-10-29
Edition Date2005-08-31
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
The range is restricted to the Colorado Plateau and vicinity in southern Utah, western Colorado, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico, at elevations of about 1,200-2,440 meters (3,940-8,000 feet); introduced and established at Cove Palisades State Park, Jefferson County, Oregon (Stuart 1998, Stebbins 2003).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number (100s) of occurrences or subpopulations (e.g., see maps in Degenhardt et al. 1996, Stuart 1998, and Hammerson 1999).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats have been identified.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitats include pinyon-juniper woodland, mountain shrubland, open chaparral, oak woodland, lower elevations of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests, and lowland riparian woodlands (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Hammerson 1999, Stebbins 2003).

Reproduction

All female; reproduces by parthenogenesis. Lays a clutch of 3-5 eggs, from June-July (Stebbins 1985).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparral
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
UtahS3Yes
ColoradoS4Yes
Navajo NationS5Yes
OregonSNANo
New MexicoS5Yes
ArizonaS5Yes
Roadless Areas (32)
Arizona (9)
AreaForestAcres
Ash CreekPrescott National Forest7,663
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Burro CanyonKaibab National Forest19,928
FritschePrescott National Forest14,190
HellsgateTonto National Forest6,171
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Padre CanyonCoconino National Forest9,431
Sierra Ancha Wilderness ContiguousTonto National Forest7,787
Willis CanyonKaibab National Forest9,688
Colorado (1)
AreaForestAcres
HermosaSan Juan NF148,103
New Mexico (14)
AreaForestAcres
Alamo CanyonSanta Fe National Forest8,639
Arroyo de los FrijolesSanta Fe National Forest5,277
Bull CanyonCarson National Forest11,512
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
Chama WS RiverSanta Fe National Forest4,168
Chama WildernessSanta Fe National Forest1,295
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
El InviernoSanta Fe National Forest29,927
Guaje CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,104
LemitasSanta Fe National Forest8,129
Nichols ReservoirSanta Fe National Forest1,518
Sierra Negra Rare II Study AreaCarson National Forest9,470
Thompson PeakSanta Fe National Forest33,001
Virgin CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,068
Utah (8)
AreaForestAcres
Boulder Mtn. / Boulder Top / Deer LakeDixie National Forest110,690
Box - Death HollowDixie National Forest3,175
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
FishhookDixie National Forest12,959
Long Neck Mesa / Steep Creek / Oak Creek - Steep Creek / OakDixie National Forest55,489
New Home BenchDixie National Forest10,513
Pine Valley MountainsDixie National Forest57,673
South RimDixie National Forest1,372
References (20)
  1. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  2. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  3. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  4. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  5. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  6. Cuellar, O. 1977. Genetic homogeneity and speciation in the parthenogenetic lizards <i>Cnemidophorus velox</i> and <i>Cnemidophorus neomexicanus</i>; evidence from intraspecific histoincompatibility. Evolution 31:24-31.
  7. Cuellar, O., and J. W. Wright. 1992. Isogenicity in the unisexual lizard <i>Cnemidophorus velox</i>. Compte rendu des séances de la Société de biogéographie 68(4):157-160.
  8. Dessauer, H. C., and C. J. Cole. 1989. Diversity between and within nominal forms of unisexual teiid lizards. Pages 49-71 in R. M. Dawley and J. P. Bogart, editors. Evolution and ecology of unisexual vertebrates. Bull. 466, New York State Mus., Albany.
  9. Frost, D. R., and J. W. Wright. 1988. The taxonomy of uniparental species, with special reference to parthenogenetic <i>Cnemidophorus </i>(Squamata: Teiidae). Syst. Zool. 37:200-209.
  10. Hammerson, G. A. 1982b. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. vii + 131 pp.
  11. Maslin, T. P., and D. M. Secoy. 1986. A checklist of the lizard genus Cnemidophorus. Contrib. Zool. Univ. Colorado Mus. (1):1-60.
  12. Maslin, T. P., and D. M. Secoy. 1986. A checklist of the lizard genus <i>Cnemidophorus</i> (Teiidae). Univ. Colorado Mus., Contrib. in Zoology No. 1. 60 pp.
  13. Moritz, C., J. W. Wright, and W. M. Brown. 1989. Mitochondrial DNA analyses and the origin and relative age of parthenogenetic <i>Cnemidophorus </i>(Teiidae: Reptilia): <i>C. velox</i> and <i>C. exsanguis</i>. Evolution 43:958-968.
  14. Neaves, W. B. 1969. Adenosine deaminase phenotypes among sexual and parthenogenetic lizards in the genus <i>Cnemidophorus </i>(Teiidae). Journal of Experimental Zoology 171(2):175-183.
  15. Reeder, T. W., C. J. Cole, and H. C. Dessauer. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships of whiptail lizards of the genus <i>Cnemidophorus </i>(Squamata: Teiidae): a test of monophyly, reevaluation of karyotypic evolution, and review of hybrid origins. American Museum Novitates (3365):1-61.
  16. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  17. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  18. Stuart, J. N. 1998. <i>Cnemidophorus velox</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 656:1-6.
  19. Uetz, P., P. Freed, R. Aguilar, F. Reyes, and J. Hošek (eds.). 2023. The Reptile Database. Online. Available: http://www.reptile-database.org
  20. Wright, J. W., and L. J. Vitt. 1993. Biology of whiptail lizards (genus <i>Cnemidophorus</i>). Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, Oklahoma.