Authors: Vicente Fernández Lara, Reagan McKee, Randy Klabacka, Angelina Romero
Mentors: Randy Klabacka
Insitution: Utah Tech University
Aspidoscelis (family: Teiidae) is a genus of lizards with many parthenogenic species found in North America. The parthenogenic species reproduce asexually, meaning all individuals in these species are female. The native range of Aspidoscelis neomexicanus (the New Mexico whiptail) is within the Rio Grande basin in New Mexico and Trans Pecos Texas. It has been reported outside its foreign range in northern Utah (Salt Lake area) as an introduced/invasive species, but has never been reported in southern Utah. We captured three individuals in Washington County that have the superficial diagnostic characters of Aspidoscelis neomexicanus. Using molecular genetics, we will test the taxonomic identity of this species and use phylogenetic analysis to determine the source population from its native range.