Added 9 February 2025.
Cnemidophorus are a New World genus found from as far north as the USA. There were formerly over fifty species, but in recent years a thorough revision of the Teiidae has moved some former Cnemidophorus species into other genera, including Contomastix and Glaucomastix.
Boulenger gave the characteristics of the genus as follows: tongue long, narrow, bilobate and not retractile at the base. Lateral teeth compressed longitudinally, bi- or tricuspid. Head with large regular shields; anterior nasal in contact with its fellows; nostril in the suture between the two nasals, or anterior to that suture. Eyelids developed. Ear exposed. Limbs well developed, pcntadactyle. Dorsal scales small; ventral plates large, subquadrangular, smooth, forming regular series. A double collar-fold. Femoral pores. Tail cyclo-tetragonal.
Subsequently, as mentioned above, a significant number of Cnemidophorus species were reassigned to new genera. In 2012 Harvey et al further defined Cnemidophorus as follows: Cnemidophorus is the only genus of Teiidae with a single pair of preanal spurs in males and proximal hemipenial laminae ornamented in short papillae. Female Cnemidophorus can be distinguished from all other teiids by the combination of long first supraciliaries, long first supralabials with straight ventral margins, subtriangular to subcircular nostrils, five regular parietals, smooth ventrals, and a continuous postaxial row of keeled, serrate scales separating the digital lamellae of all five toes.
In addition, Harvey et al defined four species groups within the genus, respectively, the C. lemniscatus, C. murinus, C. nigricolor and C. vanzoi groups. See the Bibliography for details.
This genus is of interest to scientists and herpetologists because some species are parthenogenic, ie consisting of females only which lay eggs that produce only females. In addition some of these unisexual species may nevertheless mate with bisexual species, ie those containing males and females. Here is another parallel with the Old World Lacertidae, this time with some of the parthenogenic Lacerta and Darevskia species of the Caucausus and Turkish mountains.
Although attractive lizards, whiptails are highly nervous and very fast, making them perhaps less than ideal captives for ordinary keepers. Mattison gives some general suggestions for the keeping of teiids, suggesting that the smaller ones make better captives than their larger relatives.
|
|
QUICK INDEX |
|
|
C. arubensis, Aruba Whiptail |
||
|
C. espeuti, Rainbow Lizard |
||
|
C. pseudolemniscatus, Colee's Racerunner |
C. ruatanus, Central American Whiptail |
|
|
C. splendidus, Blue Rainbow Lizard |
||
|
C. vanzoi, St Lucian/Vanzoi's Whiptail |
|
|
|
Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
|
Cnemidophorus |
||||
|
|
NW Venezuela, poss. Colombia |
|
|
|
|
Aruba Whiptail |
Cuba, Isla de la Juventud, Cat Island, Grand Bahama Bank |
|
See the Reptile Database for description. |
|
|
Uruguay |
|
|
||
|
|
Panama |
|
|
|
|
Rainbow Lizard |
Colombia |
TL 32 cm, SVL 10 cm |
Scalation details: head moderate. Nostril between the two nasals. Parietals five; four supraoculars; five supraciliaries; no frenoorbital; anterior gular scales subequal, without enlarged medians; mesoptychial scales gradually increasing in size, those of the last row large, separated from the free edge of the collar by one or two rows of granules. Dorsal scales small, granular, smooth. Ventral plates in eight longitudinal and thirty-two transverse series. Three large preanal scales forming a triangle. An anterior row of large brachials, followed by several smaller ones, passing into the postbrachials; antebrachials large, continuous with the brachials, in two rows, the outer largest and continued to the hand; forearm entirely granular inferiorly. Femorals in six or seven rows, one of which is large; tibials in two or three rows, the outer very large and composed of six plates, the other small and irregular. Femoral pores nineteen. Caudal scales oblique, with strong straight keels, slightly pointed posteriorly. Coloration: olive above, with a broad lighter dark-edged median band from the occiput to the base of the tail; a few rather indistinct round light spots on the flanks; temples and sides of neck lapis-blue; lower surfaces pale green, bluish on the sides and on the throat. Reproduction: according to the Reptile Database entry this species has both bisexual and parthenogenic forms. |
|
|
Venezuela (islands of La Pecha and Isla Real on the Archipiélago Los Frailes) |
|
See the Reptile Database for description. |
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Venezuela, NW Brazil, poss. Bolivia |
|
|
|
|
|
Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, poss. El Salvador and Costa Rica; Cuba, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Venezuela, N Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago; USA (Florida, introduced) |
TL approx 30 cm (m), 21.5 cm (f), SVL 9 cm (m), 7 cm (f) |
Scalation details: head short. Nostril between the two nasals. Parietals five; upraoculars four; five or six supraciliaries; no frenoorbital; anterior gular scales subequal, without enlarged medians; mesoptychium with three or four rows of enlarged scales, separated from the free edge of the collar by one or two rows of granules. Dorsal scales small, granular, smooth. Ventral plates in eight longitudinal and thirty to thirty-three transverse series. Generally three large preanal scales forming a triangle. An anterior row of large brachials, followed by several smaller ones, continuous with the postbrachials; antebrachials more or less continuous with the brachials, in two rows, the inner largest, the outer frequently extending only half down the inner; forearm entirely granular inferiorly. Femorals in six to eight rows, one of which is large; tibials in three rows, outer very large. Femoral pores eighteen to twenty-four. Male with a spine ou each side of the vent. Caudal scales oblique, with straight keels, shortly pointed posteriorly. Coloration: olive above, with eight or nine whitish longitudinal lines on the body in the females, the space between the two upper on each side black or blackish; limbs with round whitish spots, and sometimes a band of the same colour along the hinder side of the thighs; in males the four or five median lines alone persist, and the flanks are spotted with whitish; lower surfaces greenish white. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
|
|
|
Venezuela (Isla La Blanquilla) |
|
|
|
|
Laurent's Whiptail |
Venezuela (Curacao, Bonaire Island) |
TL 43.5 cm, SVL 14.5 cm |
Scalation details: Head moderate. Nostril between the two nasals. Parietals five, narrow; four supraoculars; five or six supraciliaries; no frenoorbital ; median gular scales gradually enlarged; mesoptychium with three or four rows of enlarged scales, which are a little larger than the largest gulars, separated from the free edge of the collar by four or five rows of small granules. Dorsal scales minutely granular, smooth. Ventral plates in ten or twelve longitudinal and thirty-eight to forty transverse series. Three large preanals, forming a triangle. Brachial and postbrachial plates small, without strongly enlarged series; two or three rows of antebrachials; forearm entirely granular interiorly. Femoral plates in ten to twelve rows, one of which is large ; tibials in three or four rows, outer very large. Femoral pores twenty-nine to thirty-five. Male with a spine on each side of the vent. Caudal scales oblique, with straight keels, not distinctly pointed posteriorly. Coloration: olive above, sides with large round bluish-white spots; hinder side of thigh with a whitish longitudinal band; lower surface of head and body brownish. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
|
|
|
Venezuela (Isla de Aves, Isla Blanquilla, Isla Los Rocques, Isla Margarita) |
|
Scalation details: Distinguished from G. lemniscatus in the following characters: mesoptychial scales hardly larger than those of the chin; brachial plates very small, in two rows. Coloration: uniform black or blackish brown, with lighter brownish lines on the nape, and spots on the outer side of the forearm, thigh, and leg, and marblings on the chin. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
|
|
C. pseudolemniscatus |
Colee's Racerunner |
Suriname, French Guiana, poss. Chile |
|
Reproduction: parthenogenic species. |
|
|
Venezuela (Isla La Tortuga) |
|
|
|
|
Central American Whiptail |
SE Belize, Guatemala, NE Nicaragua, Honduras |
|
|
|
|
|
Venezuela (Bonaire) |
|
|
|
|
|
Venezuela |
|
Coloration: adult males have pale grey heads. |
|
|
Blue Rainbow Lizard |
NW Venezuela, poss. Colombia |
|
Formerly considered a subspecies of C. lemniscatus. |
|
|
St Lucian/Vanzoi's Whiptail |
St Lucia (Maria Island) |
|
|
|
A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya World, Julian C Lee, Cornell University Press, 2000.
Back to Teiidae | Lizards
| Reptiles | Back
to Herpetology | Back to Home
Page