Reproduction in Sceloporus licki (Reptilia: Phrynosomatidae) in the Cape Region, Baja California Sur.

Sceloporus licki, an endemic lizard of the Cape Region from Baja California Sur, Mexico, shows evident sexual dimorphism in coloration and in snout‐vent length between males and females. The gonadal analysis showed that both sexes have a synchronous spring–summer reproductive cycle. The males show maximum gonadal activity from March to July; in August, they show a rapid regression, and in September, quiescence is evident only in some males while in others recrudescence has already begun. Finally, in October and November, the process of recrudescence is obvious. The females showed some asynchrony, but for most, vitellogenesis occurred from April to June and eggs in the oviduct were evident in May, June and August. Oviposition occurs in July and August and by September or October there is no more gonadal activity in the ovaries. The clutch size was 5 ± 0.2 eggs, and hatchlings appeared in May–June and September suggesting that possibly two clutches are produced per breeding season. Reproductive activity in both sexes was like that of other lizards from temperate environments. However, the long period of gonadal recrudescence in both sexes (6 months) and rapid regression and quiescence in males of the studied population suggest plasticity in gonadal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]