Título
Color pattern and body size variation in live Aspidoscelis costatus costatus (Squamata: Teiidae) from a protected enclave in southern Mexico
Autor
ALDO GOMEZ BENITEZ
Oswaldo Hernández Gallegos
Brittany Lovell
Pelagie Kadia
JAMES MARTIN WALKER
Nivel de Acceso
Acceso Abierto
Materias
adaptive significance - ([1931-7603]) Balsas Basin Whiptail - ([1931-7603]) body size - ([1931-7603]) dorsal coloration - ([1931-7603]) Mexican lizards - ([1931-7603]) ontogeny - ([1931-7603]) spots - ([1931-7603]) stripes - ([1931-7603]) ventral coloration - ([1931-7603]) BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA - (CTI)
Resumen o descripción
Coloración en la lagartija Aspidoscelis costatus costatus
Whiptail lizards in the sexlineatus species group (genus Aspidoscelis) in North America represent some of the most challenging patterns of variation in the North American herpetofauna. The range of color patterns in these populations is based on individual, ontogenetic, sexual, seasonal, and/or geographic variation. We studied representatives of a population of Western Mexico Whiptail (A. costatus costatus) from a protected private enclave of approximately 0.27 ha in the municipality and city of Ixtapan de la Sal, Estado de México, México. We captured 50 lizards in 2016 and 24 in 2018, most of which we photographed ex situ and a few in situ. These photographs revealed that a variety of age/size related dorsal and ventral patterns were consistently present. Males progressed through five stages of dorsal pattern changes from pale stripes, dark intervening fields, no spots to spots, and diverse pale configurations set in a black ground color. Females in this population showed similar changes but did not lose striping as they grew. Ontogenetic changes in ventral color patterns were also apparent, with males becoming more colorful than females. The adaptive significance of extensive color pattern variation in this urban population of A. c. costatus warrants further study.
Editor
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
Fecha de publicación
31 de agosto de 2020
Tipo de publicación
Artículo
Recurso de información
Fuente
1931-7603
Idioma
Inglés
Relación
15
Audiencia
Estudiantes
Investigadores
Repositorio Orígen
REPOSITORIO INSTITUCIONAL DE LA UAEM
Descargas
175