Aspidoscelis

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = California Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris).JPG

| image_caption = California whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris munda)

| taxon = Aspidoscelis

| authority = Fitzinger, 1843

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = Over 40, see text.Genus Aspidoscelis at Encyclopedia of Life. [http://www.eol.org/search?q=Aspidoscelis&search_image=Submit&cx=005034203190629281476%3Adcs9wj9m5c4&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&search_type=text eol.org]

}}

Aspidoscelis is a genus of whiptail lizards in the family Teiidae.

Taxonomy

The nomenclature for the genus Aspidoscelis 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.

Etymology

The name Aspidoscelis literally means "shield-leg", from the Ancient Greek wikt:ἀσπίς ("shield") and wikt:σκέλος ("leg").{{cite web|title=Aspidoscelis sexlineata|url=http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/collections/herps/data/ilspecies/cn_sexline/|website=Illinois Natural History Survey|publisher=University of Illinois|quote=Etymology: Aspidoscelis - aspido (Greek) shield; -skelos (Greek) meaning leg|access-date=2015-11-14|archive-date=2016-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518095833/http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/collections/herps/data/ilspecies/cn_sexline}}

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.{{EMBL genus|genus=Aspidocelis}}. www.reptile-database.org.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Aspidoscelis.

Speciation

In 2011, it was announced that a parthenogenetic hybrid Aspidocelis was bred in the laboratory.{{cite journal|title=Laboratory synthesis of an independently reproducing vertebrate species|author1=Lutes, Aracely A.|author2=Baumann, Diana P.|author3=Neaves, William B.|author4=Baumann, Peter|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=108|issue=24|pages=9910–9915|date=2011|doi=10.1073/pnas.1102811108|doi-access=free|pmid=21543715 |pmc=3116429}} This serves as a demonstration of how other hybrid parthenogens in this genus may have arisen.

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

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