Reproductive cycle and characteristics of the widely-foraging lizard, Cnemidophorus communis, from Jalisco, Mexico

A 1993-1994 study of the reproductive biology of Cnemidophorus communis in the Chamela region, Jalisco, Mexico, revealed that males reached sexual maturity at a snout-vent length (SVL) of 59 mm, and females reached sexual maturity at a SVL of 68 mm. Males exhibited maximum testicular activity from May through October, decreasing in November, and females were reproductive, having vitellogenic follicles or oviductal eggs, from July through October. The mean number of vitellogenic follicles was 6.69 +/- 0.59 (2-10, n = 13) and mean clutch size of oviductal eggs was 4.8 +/- 0.44 (3-9, n = 17). Clutch size and egg mass were positively correlated with SVL but relative clutch mass remained constant among females and years. Proximal climatic factors influenced timing and intensity of reproduction in C. communis, but the historical effect of foraging mode on teiid lizard morphology constrains relative clutch mass.