Conservation and Management of Polytypic Species: The Little Striped Whiptail Complex (Aspidoscelis inornata) as a Case Study

Subspecies have most often been described qualitatively with small sample sizes as excerpted from geographic continua. They present a long-standing conflict with evolutionary and statistical principles as well as conservation planning that often relies upon a phylogenetic perspective. Herpetological subspecies have been recognized in the literature as exceeding numerical expectations and subsequent reevaluations during the last decade have decreased their numbers ∼50%, the exception being whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis, family Teiidae). Here we used 842 base pairs of mitochondrial (mt) DNA to examine potential taxonomic and conservation boundaries among two putative species and four subspecies of the abundantly polytypic Aspidoscelis inornata (Little Striped Whiptail Complex, LSWC) of southwestern North America. Body coloration, but not mtDNA, distinguished two putative species inhabiting alkali deposits, whereas neither dataset could diagnose three paraphyletic subspecies. A trend to elevate putative subspecies following a more contemporary evaluation is premature for the LSWC: we suggest that two species (arizonae, pai) and three subspecies (gypsi, junipera, llanuras) lack molecular and morphological differentiation and thus should be rescinded in taxonomic rank. These uncertainties concerning the LSWC with regard to its distributions and relationships impinge upon conservation proposals that, for example, seek to list A. arizonae as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act. Frecuentemente las subespecies han sido descritas cualitativamente y con tamaños de muestra pequeños extraídos de un continum geográfico. Ellas representan un viejo conflicto con los principios evolutivos y estadísticos así como para desarrollar planes de conservación que frecuentemente dependen de una perspectiva filogenética. Las subespecies herpetológicas han sido reconocidas en la literatura como excediendo las expectativas numéricas y una reevaluación subsecuente durante la década pasada ha disminuido sus números en ∼50%, siendo la excepción los Huicos (Aspidoscelis, familia Teiidae). Aquí utilizamos 842 pares de ADN mitocondrial (mt) para examinar el potencial taxonómico y límites de conservación entre dos supuestas especies y cuatro subespecies de la abundante y politípica Aspidoscelis inornata (complejo del Huico Liso, CDHL) del suroeste de Norteamérica. El patrón de coloración, pero no el ADN mitocondrial, distingue a dos supuestas especies que habitan en los depósitos