Mesalina rubropunctata (LICHTENSTEIN, 1823)
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Mesalina rubropunctata
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Red-spotted Lizard |
| Synonym | Lacerta rubropunctata LICHTENSTEIN 1823: 100 Scapteira nebulosa GRAY 1838: 281 Mesalina lichtensteini GRAY 1838: 282 Eremias rubropunctata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 297 Mesalina rubropunctata — GRAY 1845 Eremias rubropunctata — LOVERIDGE 1936: 62 Eremias rubropunctata — BONS 1959 Eremias rubropunctata — PAPENFUSS 1969: 276 Eremias rubropunctata — JOHANN 1981 Mesalina rubropunctata — SZCZERBAK 1989 Mesalina rubropunctata — BAHA EL DIN 1992 Mesalina rubropunctata — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 425 Mesalina rubropunctata — IBRAHIM 2008 |
| Distribution | Morocco,Western Sahara, Algeria, S Tunisia ?, Libya, Egypt, W Sinai, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad ?, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat) Type locality: “Aegypt. et Nubia”. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: ZMB 1115, 1116 (Egypt) etc. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Head shields normal; occipital shield usually present; lower nasal in contact with first supralabial only; nostril between 3 nasals and widely separated from supralabials; sometimes 2 or more transparent shields in lower eyelid; abdominal plates in parallel longitudinal rows [Hosseinian Yousefkhani et al. 2015] Diagnosis: Head and body rather strongly depressed. Head width is 83% of head length, its length 81% snoutvent length in males, 4 to 5 times in females, its depth equal to the distance between the center of the eye and tympanum; snout pointed, with the nasal shields strongly swollen, equal in length to the postocular part of the head; canthus rostralis sharp, loreal region feebly concave; a more or less distinct concavity in the middle of the upper surface of the snout, extending to the middle of the frontal shield. Neck as broad as head. Addpressed hindlimb reaching the collar or between the collar and the ear, rarely the ear in males; the elbow, the axil, the collar, or a little beyond, in females; foot 92% of the length of head; toes moderately slender, not compressed. Tail 88% of the length of head and body. First and fourth supraoculars small or broken into granules; 6 to 8, rarely 5, superciliaries, first longest, separated from the two large supraoculars by one or two series of anterior granules and anterior, 2 to 5 posterior one, rarely one throughout. Three nasals, lower in contact with the rostral and the first upper labial, posterior small and very rarely excluded from the nostril; usually 4, sometimes 5, upper labials anterior to the subocular, which is keeled below the eye and largely borders the mouth, its lower border much shorter than the upper; temporal scales small, granular, lower larger; a small tympanic shield often present; no auricular denticulation. Lower eyelid with a semitransparent disc formed of 5 to 8 scales, 2 or 3 of which are sometimes large. 26 to 35 gular scales in a straight line between the symphysis of the chin-shields and the median collar-plate; dorsal scales juxtaposed, granular, smooth, larger towards the ventrals, 53 to 67 (usually 58 to 63) across the middle of the body. Ventral plates in 12, rarely 10 or 14, straight longitudinal rows, and 32 to 37 transverse series, mostly as long as broad or a little broader than long. Femoral pores 13 to 22 on each side, usually 14 to 20. Subdigital lamella bi-, tri-, or quadricarinate, usually 18 to 23 under the fourth toe. Upper caudal scales distinctly oblique; 26 to 32 scales in the fourth or fifth whorl. Sexual maturity may be reached in the second year. It also has been reported (Schleich et al., 1996) that the scorpion Androctonus amoureuxi is a major predator of the juveniles, which have been found with wounds inflicted by termite soldiers (Schleich et al., 1996). Food consists of ants and small Coleoptera, especially tenebrionids, although in captivity they will take crickets. |
| Comment | Type species: Mesalina lichtensteini GRAY 1838 (= Lacerta rubropunctata LICHTENSTEIN 1823) is the type species of the genus Mesalina GRAY 1838. |
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