Aspidoscelis

Aspidoscelis
File:Aspidoscelis tigris Mojave CA.JPG
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertilia
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Teiidae
Genus:	Aspidoscelis Fitzinger, 1843
Species
Over 120, see text.

Aspidoscelis is a genus of whiptail lizards in the family Teiidae. The nomenclature for this genus was published by T.W. Reeder et al. in 2002. Many species that were formerly included in the genus Cnemidophorus are now considered Aspidoscelis based upon divergent characters between the two groups.

The name Aspidoscelis literally means "shield-leg", from the Ancient Greek aspido- ("shield") and skelos ("leg").

Species

This is a partial list:

• Aspidoscelis angusticeps
• Aspidoscelis arizonae
• Aspidoscelis bacata
• Aspidoscelis burti
• Aspidoscelis calidipes
• Aspidoscelis cana
• Aspidoscelis carmenensis
• Aspidoscelis catalinensis
• Aspidoscelis celeripes
• Aspidoscelis ceralbensis
• Aspidoscelis communis
• Aspidoscelis costata
• Aspidoscelis cozumelae
• Aspidoscelis danheimae
• Aspidoscelis deppei
• Aspidoscelis dixoni
• Aspidoscelis exsanguis
• Aspidoscelis flagellicauda
• Aspidoscelis gularis
• Aspidoscelis guttata
• Aspidoscelis gypsi
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra
• Aspidoscelis inornata
• Aspidoscelis labialis
• Aspidoscelis laredoensis
• Aspidoscelis lineattissima
• Aspidoscelis marmorata
• Aspidoscelis martyris
• Aspidoscelis maslini
• Aspidoscelis maxima
• Aspidoscelis mexicana
• Aspidoscelis motaguae
• Aspidoscelis neomexicana
• Aspidoscelis neotesselata
• Aspidoscelis opatae
• Aspidoscelis pai
• Aspidoscelis parvisocia
• Aspidoscelis picta
• Aspidoscelis rodecki
• Aspidoscelis sackii
• Aspidoscelis scalaris
• Aspidoscelis septemvittata
• Aspidoscelis sexlineata
• Aspidoscelis sonorae
• Aspidoscelis stictogramma
• Aspidoscelis tesselata
• Aspidoscelis uniparens
• Aspidoscelis velox
• Aspidoscelis xanthonota

Speciation

In 2011, it was announced that a parthenogenetic hybrid Aspidocelis was bred in the laboratory. This serves as a demonstration of how other hybrid parthenogens in this genus may have arisen.

Further reading

• Fitzinger L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Aspidoscelis, new genus, p. 20).

External link

• Reeder, Tod W.; Dessauer, Herbert C.; Cole, Charles J. (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): 1-61. [1]