Zoogeography of Parthenogenetic Whiptail Lizards (Cnemidophorus lemniscatus) in the Guianas: Evidence from Skin Grafts, Karyotypes, and Erythrocyte Areas

Techniques of skin grafting and ploidy determination are applied to parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus lemniscatus from coastal and interior Suriname and coastal French Guiana. Many grafts exchanged among coastal Suriname populations are accepted; these animals are triploid or approximately so. Diploid parthenogens from Suriname's interior unequivocally reject coastal grafts, while some reciprocal grafts are better tolerated. It is concluded that Suriname populations did not originate independently: coastal triploids developed from diploid mating with sexual C. lemniscatus. All grafts exchanged among Suriname and triploid French Guiana populations are strongly rejected, indicating either that they arose separately, or that their common ancestry has been obscured by subsequent mutation, recombination, or sexual introgression. Parthenogenetic distribution and the history of savannahs in Suriname suggest that clonal C. lemniscatus arose in this area some time before 2800 y.b.p. Parthenogenetic establishment may have been favoured both by a plenitude of empty habitats and widespread reforestation approximately three millennia ago.