The canyon spotted whiptail (''Aspidoscelis burti'') is a
species of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
in the
family Teiidae. The species is native to northwestern
Mexico and the adjacent southwestern
United States.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''burti'', is in honor of American herpetologist
Charles Earle Burt
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Aspidoscelis burti'', p. 43).]
Geographic range
''A. burti'' is found in the Mexican state of
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
and in the U.S. state of
Arizona.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitats of ''A. burti'' are
forest,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, and rocky areas.
Reproduction
''A. burti'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Reeder TW, Cole CJ, Dessauer HC (2002). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Whiptail Lizards of the Genus ''Cnemidophorus'' (Squamata: Teiidae): A Test of Monphyly, Reevaluation of Karyotypic Evolution, and Review of Hybrid Origins". ''American Museum Novitates'' (3365): 1–61. (''Aspidoscelis burti'', new combination, p. 22).
* Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (hardcover), (paperback). (''Cnemidophorus burti'', p. 96).
* Stebbins RC (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition''. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp. . (''Cnemidophorus burti'', pp. 318–319).
* Taylor EH (1938). "Notes on the Herpetological Fauna of the Mexican State of Sonora". ''University of Kansas Science Bulletin'' 24 (19): 475–503 + Plate XLIII. (''Cnemidophorus burti'', new species, pp. 485–487 + Plate XLIII, figure 2).
Aspidoscelis
Reptiles described in 1938
Taxa named by Edward Harrison Taylor
Fauna of the Southwestern United States
Reptiles of the United States
Reptiles of Mexico
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