by a

I'm Ladytija

agil — 2013-02-17 10:15:53 UTC

My scientific name is Cnemidophorus uniparens
and as you can see in this beautiful picture (from http://www.amazilia.net) I am
a LIZARD, a kind of REPTILE.

Habitat

agil — 2013-02-17 10:27:53 UTC

I live in dry deserts from central Arizona to west Texas and south into Mexico.

Skin, body temperature, breathing

agil — 2013-02-17 10:47:22 UTC

My skin is impermeable because it is covered by thick scales.

I am cold-blooded so I love my habitat because I can take as many sun baths as I want.

I breathe through lungs.

My family and our risk of extinction

agil — 2013-02-17 11:00:06 UTC

We don't know how many of us there are but we probably exceed 1,000,000 individuals.

Some of my relatives live in protected areas.

Nowadays we don't need conservation measures as our population is stable and no major threats are known.

But if you happen to meet me, please treat me kindly. Although I'm able to grow a new tail, I don't like it when kids cut our tails.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/64291/0

http://eol.org/pages/454775/details

Reproduction

agil — 2013-02-17 11:04:53 UTC

I know this is fascinating : I have asexual reproduction.

In my species there are no males, we are all females.

I produce eggs that are exact genetic copies of myself.

We simulate sexual acts (we play play both the male and female part) because this way we reproduce more successfully.

I usually lay 1-4 eggs that hatch in 50-55 days.

http://moondoodle42.blogspot.com.es/2011/04/cnemidophorus-uniparens.html

http://eol.org/pages/454775/details

Enemies

agil — 2013-02-17 11:18:22 UTC

My main enemies are birds and snakes. I am specially afraid of hawks.

www.aics-research.com/research/whiptail.pdf

Food

agil — 2013-02-17 11:41:48 UTC

I usually eat insects and I love termites.

Defence

agil — 2013-02-17 11:45:46 UTC

I try to camouflage myself and to move slowly.

Why am I so special?

agil — 2013-02-17 12:11:28 UTC

I think that what makes me so special is the way we reproduce. The name for this kind of reproduction is parthenogenesis. We are called lesbian lizards by some scientists.
Long time ago, a female of one species of lizard mated with a male of a different one and they produced my great great ... great grandmother. I am supposed to be a clone of her but I may not be identical to her because of the mutations in my DNA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnemidophorus