Xantusia vigilis Genome sequencing

The night lizards (Xantusiidae) are a family of small-bodied lizards found in North America (Xantusia), Central America (Lepidophyma), and Cuba (Cricosaura). The xantusiids show several unique ecological, behavioral and evolutionary characteristics. For instance, the family contains the only squamate species that form diploid, unisexual, parthenogenic lineages. In addition, most night lizards are viviparous and form stable kin groups that are maintained over multiple years. Combining PacBio long-read sequencing, Hi-C, and RNAseq data we developed a reference-quality genome for the desert night lizard, X. vigilis. This is the first reference genome for the night lizard family, which has an independent evolutionary history of at least 80 million years from its sister taxa within Scincoidea. We assembled a complete mitochondrion and ~ 2.2 Gb genome, with 20 scaffolds that correlate in size to the X. vigilis karyotype. Relative to the genome assembly of a species in sister family Cordylidae (Hemicordylus capensis), X. vigilis chromosome 1 may represent a fusion of macrochromosome 1 and microchromosome 9.