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Home/Species/ Desert Grassland Whiptail

Aspidoscelis uniparens

(Wright and Lowe, 1965)

Desert Grassland Whiptail

G5Secure Found in 17 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102521
Element CodeARACJ02150
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyTeiidae
GenusAspidoscelis
Synonyms
Cnemidophorus uniparensWright and Lowe, 1965
Other Common Names
desert grassland whiptail (EN) Desert Grassland Whiptail (unisexual) (EN)
Concept Reference
Wright, J. W., and L. J. Vitt. 1993. Biology of whiptail lizards (genus Cnemidophorus). Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, Oklahoma.
Taxonomic Comments
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.
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-08-31
Change Date1996-10-29
Edition Date2005-08-31
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Range Extent Comments
The range includes Arizona, New Mexico, extreme western Texas, and adjacent northern Mexico, southward into central Chihuahua (Stebbins 2003).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by hundreds of occurrences or subpopulations (e.g., see map in Degenhardt et al. 1996).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats have been identified.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This whiptail is common in desert-grassland habitats and grasslands that have been degraded and invaded by shrubby species (Degenhardt et al. 1996). It inhabits lowland plains and gentle foothill slopes and is often abundant in dense mesquite and sometimes occurs in areas with sparse grasses/herbs; it follows drainages into evergreen woodland in lower mountains (Stebbins 2003). Eggs are laid underground.

Ecology

Eifler and Eifler (1998) determined that meadian home range size was 770 sq m in residents and 1191 sq m in transients (maximum 3317 sq m).

Reproduction

All female, parthenogenetic. Lays clutch of 1-4 eggs, May-July (Stebbins 1985). Eggs hatch in 50-55 days (Behler and King 1979).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferShrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousDesertSuburban/orchard
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS4Yes
TexasS4Yes
ArizonaS5Yes
Roadless Areas (17)
Arizona (13)
AreaForestAcres
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
Hell HoleApache-Sitgreaves National Forests15,512
HellsgateTonto National Forest6,171
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (4)
AreaForestAcres
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Hell HoleGila National Forest19,553
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
References (15)
  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. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  4. 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
  5. 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.
  6. 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]
  7. 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.
  8. Eifler, D. A., and M. A. Eifler. 1998. Foraging behavior and spacing patterns of the lizard Cnemidophorus uniparens. Journal of Herpetology 32:24-33.
  9. Hulse, A. C. 1981. Ecology and reproduction of the parthenogenetic lizard <i>Cnemidophorus uniparens</i> (Teiidae). Ann. Carnegie Mus. Nat. Hist. 50:353-369.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  13. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  14. Uetz, P., P. Freed, R. Aguilar, F. Reyes, and J. Hošek (eds.). 2023. The Reptile Database. Online. Available: http://www.reptile-database.org
  15. Wright, J. W., and L. J. Vitt. 1993. Biology of whiptail lizards (genus <i>Cnemidophorus</i>). Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, Oklahoma.