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Article Evaluation: New Mexico Whiptail


 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?

The article does have relevant information throughout the article, but the phrase 'as those that do not "mate" do not lay eggs', which is located under behavior in the article, is distracting because these lizards do lay eggs and this sentence is contradictory because of it.Is any


 * information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

This article could be updated with the current population size, environment needs, etc. It also needs more inline citations to make the article more clear.


 * What else could be improved?
 * LIST OF EDITS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE

= New Mexico whiptail = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from New Mexico Whiptail)

Jump to navigationJump to search Insert paragraph The New Mexico whiptail (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) is a female-only species of lizard found in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Arizona, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua. It is the official state reptile of New Mexico. It is one of many lizard species known to be parthenogenic. Individuals of the species can be created either through the hybridization of the little striped whiptail (C. inornatus) and the western whiptail (C. tigris), or through the parthenogenic reproduction of an adult New Mexico whiptail.

The hybridization of these species prevents healthy males from forming, whereas males exist in both parent species (see Sexual differentiation). Parthenogenesis allows the resulting all-female population to reproduce and thus evolve into a unique species capable of reproduction. This combination of interspecific hybridization and parthenogenesis exists as a reproductive strategy in several species of whiptail lizard within the genus Cnemidophorus to which the New Mexico whiptail belongs. Parthenogensesis is reproduction from an ovum without fertilization, especially as a normal process in some invertebrates and lower plants. Parthenogenesis is sometimes considered to be an asexual form of reproduction; however, it may be more accurately described as an “incomplete form of sexual reproduction,” since offspring of parthenogenic species develop from gametes.

Contents

 * 1Description
 * 2Behavior
 * 3See also
 * 4Footnotes
 * 5References

Description[edit]
The New Mexico whiptail grows from 16.5 to 23 cm (6.5 to 9.1 in) in length, and is typically overall brown or black in color with seven pale yellow stripes from head to tail. Light colored spots often occur between the stripes. They have a white or pale blue underside, with a blue or blue-green colored throat. They are slender bodied, with a long tail.

Behavior[edit]
Like most other whiptail lizards, the New Mexico whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. They are found in a wide variety of semi-arid habitats, including grassland, rocky areas, shrubland, or mountainside woodlands. Reproduction occurs through parthenogenesis, with up to four unfertilized eggs being laid in mid summer, and hatching approximately eight weeks later.

The New Mexico whiptail lizard is a crossbreed of a western whiptail, which lives in the desert, and the little striped whiptail, which favours grasslands. The lizard is a female-only species that reproduces by producing an egg through parthenogenesis. Despite reproducing asexually, and being an all-female species, the whiptail still engages in mating behavior with other females of its own species, giving rise to the common nickname "lesbian lizards". A common theory is that this behavior stimulates ovulation, as those that do not "mate" do not lay eggs.

See also[edit]

 * New Mexico
 * Whiptail

Footnotes[edit]

 * 1) Jump up^
 * 2) Jump up^ Lowe, Charles H., and John W. Wright. "Evolution of parthenogenetic species of Cnemidophorus (whiptail lizards) in western North America." Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science (1966): 81-87.
 * 3) Jump up^

References[edit]

 * Herps of Texas: Cnemidophorus neomexicanus

Categories:


 * IUCN Red List least concern species
 * Teiidae
 * Vertebrate parthenogenesis
 * Reptiles described in 1852
 * Lizards of North America
 * Reptiles of the United States
 * Biota of New Mexico
 * Endemic fauna of the United States
 * Symbols of New Mexico

Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel

ADDING TO THE ARTICLE:


 * Define parthenogenesis in the article. reproduction from an ovum without fertilization, especially as a normal process in some invertebrates and lower plants. Parthenogenesis is sometimes considered to be an asexual form of reproduction; however, it may be more accurately described as an “incomplete form of sexual reproduction,” since offspring of parthenogenic species develop from gametes. source: https://www.britannica.com/science/parthenogenesis


 * detailed map of locations? could not find online but an idea!
 * link to the western whiptail and little striped whiptail.