''Cnemidophorus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Teiidae Teiidae is a family of lacertoidean lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnophthalmidae, Gymnopthalmidae, and ...

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the genus ''Cnemidophorus'' are commonly referred to as whiptail lizards or racerunners. The genus is native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

Taxonomy

Reeder et al. (2002) re-examined the

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

for the genus ''Cnemidophorus'' (''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'') and split it into the two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

Aspidoscelis ''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 ...

'' and ''Cnemidophorus'' (''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

''). A further split by Harvey et al. (2012) added the genera ''

Ameivula ''Ameivula'' is a genus of lizards in the Family (biology), family Teiidae. The genus is Endemism, endemic to South America. Many species in the genus ''Ameivula'' were previously listed in the genus ''Cnemidophorus''. Species The following 11 s ...

'' and '' Contomastix''.

Etymology

The name ''Cnemidophorus'' literally means "

greave A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armor") or jambeau is a piece of armor that protects the human leg, leg. Description The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to ...

-wearing", from the Ancient Greek ' (

combining form Neoclassical compounds are compound words composed from combining forms (which act as affixes or stems) derived from classical languages (classical Latin or ancient Greek) roots. Neo-Latin comprises many such words and is a substantial componen ...

of ', "greave", a leg armor) and ' ("bearer").

Reproduction

In some of the ''Cnemidophorus''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, there are no males, and they reproduce through

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...

. This is well known in bees and

aphids Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

, but is very rare in

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s. Those species without males are now known to originate through hybridization, or interspecific breeding. Occasionally, a mating between a female of one species and a male of another produces a parthenogen, a female that is able to produce viable eggs that are genetically identical to her own cells. The lizards that hatch from these eggs are thus also parthenogens that can again produce identical eggs, resulting in an asexual, clonal population. Parthenogenetic species resulting from a single hybridization are diploid (that is, they have two sets of chromosomes just as sexual species do), but sometimes these females mate with other males, producing offspring which are triploid (that is, they have three sets of chromosomes, or 50% more than equivalent sexual species; see

polyploidy Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

). Over 30% of the genus ''Cnemidophorus'' are parthenogenic.

Species

The genus ''Cnemidophorus'' (''sensu stricto'') contains the following species which are recognized as being valid.. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Cnemidophorus arenivagus'' *''

Cnemidophorus arubensis ''Cnemidophorus arubensis'', commonly known as the Aruba whiptail or ''cododo,'' is a species of whiptail lizard in the genus ''Cnemidophorus''. The female and young lizards are known as (English: Lizard), while the mature males are called (Eng ...

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Cnemidophorus''.

References

3. “Western Whiptail Lizard.” Whiptail Lizard - Desert Wildlife, digital-desert.com/wildlife/whiptail-lizard.html

External links

''Cnemidophorus deppei'' and other lizards of Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, Nicaragua
* 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

{{Authority control Cnemidophorus, Lizard genera Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler