Aspidoscelis hyperythrus (Cope 1863)

The orange-throated whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythrus) is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species was previously placed in the genus Cnemidophorus. Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Geographic range

A. hyperythrus is native to southern California in the United States, and to the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico.^[2]

Description

A. hyperythrus has five or six light-colored stripes down a black, brown, or grey dorsal side. The middle stripe may be forked at both ends. The species is whitish-yellow or cream on the venter, and has an orange throat (females and juveniles may lack this character). Its head is yellow-brown to olive-colored, and its tongue is forked and flicked continually. It has a snout-to-vent length of 5–7.2 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in).

Juveniles of this species have cobalt blue legs and tails. The entire ventral surface of males, including the tail, may be orange, although gravid females may also have some orange especially lining the lower jaw. The colors are most distinct in the breeding season. Males have larger femoral pores than females.

Behavior

The orange-throated whiptail has a distinctive, jerking gait.

Etymology

The subspecific names, beldingi and schmidti, are in honor of American ornithologist Lyman Belding and American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt, respectively.^[4]

References

Aspidoscelis hyperythra est une espèce de sauriens de la famille des Teiidae^[1].

Répartition

Cette espèce se rencontre^[1] :

• aux États-Unis dans le sud de la Californie et au Nouveau-Mexique ;
• au Mexique dans l'État de Chihuahua et en péninsule de Basse-Californie.

Description

Ce lézard est brun avec des lignes blanches à bleutées sur les côtés. Chez les juvéniles les pattes et la queue sont également bleus. La face ventrale plutôt beige chez les femelles et orange chez les mâles, bien que les femelles gravides puissent également présenter une teinte orange.
Les mâles présentent des pores fémoraux plus gros que les femelles.

Sous-espèces

Selon Reptarium Reptile Database (22 janvier 2014)^[2] :

• Aspidoscelis hyperythra beldingi (Stejneger, 1894)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra caeruleus (Dickerson, 1919)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra carmenensis (Maslin & Secoy, 1986)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra espiritensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra franciscensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra hyperythrus (Cope, 1864)
• Aspidoscelis hyperythra schmidti (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)

Publications originales

• Cope, 1864 "1863" : Descriptions of new American Squamata in the Museum of the Smtihsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. 15, p. 100-106 (texte intégral).
• Dickerson, 1919 : Diagnoses of twenty-three new species and a new genus of lizards from Lower California. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 41, n^o 10, p. 461-477 (texte intégral).
• Maslin & Secoy, 1986 : A checklist of the lizard genus Cnemidophorus (Teiidae). Contributions in Zoology of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, vol. 1, p. 1-60.
• Stejneger, 1894 : Description of a new lizard (Verticaria beldingi), from California. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, vol. 17, p. 17-18 (texte intégral).
• Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921 : Preliminary diagnoses of more new species of reptiles from islands in the gulf of California, Mexico. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, sér. 4, vol. 11, n^o 17, p. 395-398 (texte intégral).

Notes et références