View source for New Mexico whiptail

{{Short description|Species of reptile}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=November 2013}}
{{Speciesbox
 | name                = New Mexico whiptail
 | status              = LC
 | status_system       = IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref>{{cite iucn|author1=Hammerson, G.A.|author2=Lavin, P.|author3=Vazquez Díaz, J.|author4=Quintero Díaz, G.|author5=Gadsden, H.|year=2007|title=''Aspidoscelis neomexicana''|page=e.T64278A12752324|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64278A12752324.en|access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>
 | image               = New Mexico Whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicana) - Flickr - GregTheBusker.jpg
 | image_caption       = New Mexico whiptail (''Aspidoscelis neomexicanus'')
 | genus            = Aspidoscelis
 | species             = neomexicanus
 | authority           = [[Charles H. Lowe|Lowe]] & [[Richard G. Zweifel|Zweifel]], 1952
 | synonyms            = ''Cnemidophorus perplexus''<br /><small>[[Spencer Fullerton Baird|Baird]] & [[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1852</small><br />''Cnemidophorus neomexicanus''<br /><small>Lowe & Zweifel, 1952</small>
}}

The '''New Mexico whiptail''' ('''''Aspidoscelis neomexicanus''''') is a female-only [[species]] of [[lizard]] found in [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]] in the southwestern United States, and in [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] in northern Mexico. It is the official [[state reptile]] of New Mexico.<ref name="New Mexico">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmenvirothon.com/Wildlife/Chapter%20%20VIII-New%20Mexico%20State%20Animals.pdf |title=Chapter VIII. New Mexico state animals |access-date=January 22, 2011 |publisher=New Mexico Envirothon |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714185758/http://www.nmenvirothon.com/Wildlife/Chapter%20%20VIII-New%20Mexico%20State%20Animals.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref> It is one of many lizard species known to be [[parthenogenesis|parthenogenetic]]. Individuals of the species can be created either through the hybridization of the little striped whiptail (''[[Aspidoscelis inornatus|A. inornatus]]'') and the western whiptail (''[[Aspidoscelis tigris|A. tigris]]''),<ref name="Hybridisation">{{cite journal|last1=Lowe|first1= Charles H.|first2= John W.|last2= Wright|title=Evolution of parthenogenetic species of ''Cnemidophorus'' (whiptail lizards) in western North America|journal=Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science|date=1966|pages=81–87|jstor=40022375|volume=4|issue=2}}</ref> or through the parthenogenetic reproduction of an adult New Mexico whiptail.

The hybridization of these species prevents healthy [[male]]s from forming, whereas males exist in one parent species (see [[Sexual differentiation]]). Parthenogenesis allows the all-female population to reproduce. This combination of [[interspecific hybrid]]ization and [[parthenogenesis]] exists as a reproductive strategy in several species of whiptail lizard within the genus ''[[Aspidoscelis]]'' to which the New Mexico whiptail belongs.

== Description ==
The New Mexico whiptail grows from {{convert|16.5|to|23|cm|in|abbr=on|order=flip}} 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 that is more commonly blue-green in their infant stage, melding into the same spotted brown and yellow color as they age.

== Behavior ==
Like most other whiptail lizards, the New Mexico whiptail is [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] and [[insectivore|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 [[egg (biology)|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 favors grasslands. The whiptail engages in mating behavior with other females of its own species, giving rise to the nickname "lesbian lizards".<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC Two - Battle of the Sexes - In the Animal World, THE RIDDLE OF SEX, Lesbian lizards|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p006v48r|access-date=2021-11-14|website=BBC|date=10 March 2010 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Spinney|first=Kimberley|date=2015-06-15|title=Lesbian Lizards a Hybrid Species Out of New Mexico|url=https://guardianlv.com/2015/06/lesbian-lizards-a-hybrid-species-out-of-new-mexico/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Guardian Liberty Voice|language=en-US}}</ref> A common theory is that this behavior stimulates ovulation, as those that do not "mate" do not lay eggs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crews|first1=David|title=Courtship in unisexual lizards: A model for brain evolution|journal=Scientific American|date=1987|volume=257|issue=6|pages=116–121|jstor=24979584|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1287-116|bibcode=1987SciAm.257f.116C}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Teiidae|Whiptail]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060619065241/http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/lizards/cnemidophorus.neomexicanus.html Herps of Texas: ''Cnemidophorus neomexicanus'']
{{Refend}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q934175}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aspidoscelis]]
[[Category:Lizards of North America]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1852]]
[[Category:Biota of New Mexico]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Mexico]]
[[Category:Symbols of New Mexico]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Herbert Lowe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel]]
[[Category:Vertebrate parthenogenesis]]
[[Category:Unisexual animals]]