THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Teiidae  

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail
Aspidoscelis sonorae (Lowe and Wright, 1964)
as-pid-OSS-uh-lis — soh-NOR-ee

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Taylor et al. (2018, Herpetological Review 49: 636–653) proposed treating the previously recognized species A. flagellicaudus as conspecific with A. sonorae based on an analysis of new morphological data and a review of existing genetic data. (de Queiroz, Kevin and Lauren M. Chan. 2025. Squamata (excluding snakes) – Lizards. Pages 23-37 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.02.10.10.20.58)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.15 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona California New Mexico

Taxonomic Etymology:
A desert-dwelling species found in the Sonoran Desert.
Aspidoscelis — Greek for “shield leg.”
sonorae — Latinized toponym meaning “from Sonora,” referencing the desert region in Mexico and Arizona.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1931 Burt, Charles E. A study of the teiid lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus with special reference to their phylogenetic relationships. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (154):1-286
1964 Lowe, Charles H. and Wright, John W. Species of the Cnemidophorus exsanguis subgroup of whiptail lizards. Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science 3(2):78-80
1970 Gorman, George C. Chromosomes and the systematics of the family Teiidae (Sauria, Reptilia). Copeia 1970(2):230-245
1973 Lucchino, Ronald V. Biochemical comparison of two sibling species: Cnemidophorus exsanguis and Cnemidophorus sonorae (Sauria: Teiidae). Journal of Herpetology 7(4):379-380
1984 Routman, Eric J. and Arthur C. Hulse. Ecology and reproduction of a parthenogenetic lizard, Cnemidophorus sonorae. Journal of Herpetology 18(4):381-386
2002 Reeder, Tod W., Charles J. Cole, and Herbert C. Dessauer. Phylogenetic relationships of Whiptail lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae): A test of monophyly, reevaluation of karyotypic evolution, and review of hybrid origins. American Museum Novitates (3365):1-61
2024 Pillod, David S., Michelle I. Jeffries, Robert S. Arkle, and Deanna H. Olson. Climate futures for lizards and snakes in western North America may result in new species management issues Ecology and Evolution 14(10):1-23

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:52 CT