Identity, Reproduction, Variation, Ecology, and Geographic Origin of a Florida Adventive: Cnemidophorus lemniscatus (Rainbow Whiptail Lizard, Sauria: Teiidae)

Abstract We answer a longstanding question pertaining to Florida's exotic herpeto-fauna—are the colorful lizards (Sauria: Teiidae, Cnemidophorus lemniscatus [Rainbow Whiptail]), introduced to Florida from the pet trade, representative of one or a complex of species? We performed detailed analyses of color pattern, scutellation, and meristic characters using 16 specimens from Miami-Dade County and compared these data to those based on samples of all members in the widely distributed neotropical Cnemidophorus lemniscatus complex comprising both parthenogenetic (C. cryptus and C. pseudolemniscatus) and gonochoristic (C. arenivagus, C. gramivagus, C. lemniscatus lemniscatus, C. lemniscatus splendidus, and C. nigricolor) species of lizards. We concluded that only the most widely distributed taxon in the complex, C. lemniscatus lemniscatus, is established in Miami-Dade County. A population of this form has existed in an area of the City of Miami for several decades near and in a human-created domain of building...