Mesalina simoni (BOETTGER, 1881)
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Mesalina simoni
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Mesalina simoni simoni (BOETTGER 1881) Mesalina simoni saharae PIZZIGALLI, CROCHET, GENIEZ, MARTÍNEZ-FREIRIA, VELO-ANTÓN & BRITO 2021 |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Podarces (Mesalina) simoni BOETTGER 1881: 571 Eremias olivieri simoni — BONS 1959 Mesalina simoni — ARNOLD 1986 Mesalina olivieri simoni — SZCZERBAK 1989 Mesalina simoni — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 428 Mesalina simoni — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 Mesalina simoni saharae PIZZIGALLI, CROCHET, GENIEZ, MARTÍNEZ-FREIRIA, VELO-ANTÓN & BRITO 2021 Mesalina olivieri — KAPLI et al. 2014 (part.) Mesalina olivieri — SIMÓ-RIUDALBAS et al. 2019 (part.) |
| Distribution | Morocco (central coast of the Atlantic Ocean) Type locality: “inter urbes Mogador et Marocco, unicum prope urbem Casablanca”. saharae: Morocco; Type locality. Morocco, Atlantic Sahara, road N1, 69 km past Boujdour toward Laayoune, 26.4925°N/−13.9198°W/60 m a.s.l. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: SMF 13872 (formerly 6087,1c) Holotype. MNHN-RA-2020.0018 (ex BEV.9114), adult male (Figure 9). Collected by Pierre-André Crochet and Julien Renoult on 10th September 2006. Paratypes. Adult male BEV.10849, from 6 km E of Sidi Kathari, 26.5298°N/−12.3364°W, collected by Pierre-André Crochet on 21st March 2010; adult female BEV.10850, from 4 km past Awserd toward Dakhla, 22.5709°N/−14.3544°W, collected by Pierre-André Crochet on the 18th March 2010, all preserved in the BEV collection in Montpellier. [saharae] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. For a time it was considered a subspecies of M. olivieri: In appearance it differs mainly by a heavier pigmentation of dark gray on the gular and ventral regions, and by having light dorsal stripes bordered with black (this black bordering lacking in M. olivieri). Scalation is very similar to M. olivieri apart from the palpebral disk, which is made up of 7 – 8 opaque or translucent plates which are never bordered in black, unlike those of M. olivieri. This species inhabits rocky plateaus with sparse vegetation, from sea level to above 3000 ft. As it has only recently been differentiated from M. olivieri, details on ecology are still lacking (Boettger, 1881, Yousefkhani et al. 2015). Diagnose (saharae). A member of the M. olivieri species complex closely related to the nominotypical M. simoni, but with the following combination of characters: (a) eyelids with 5–6 large transparent scales (b) not edged in black (rarely indistinct spots on their edges), (c) dorsal coloration in life generally sandy, sandy-brown, or sandy gray with (d) a poorly marked dorsal pattern mostly composed of longitudinal rows of whitish spots; spots narrowly edged internally by dark coloration (dark inner edge typically 1–2 or 2–3 scales wide), sometimes bordered by a pale grayish dorsolateral line, (e) a dark continuous or near continuous band from the nostril along the flanks to the hind legs constituting the darkest element in the pattern and often including pale spots and their dark edges, (f) a distinctive delicate habitus with elongated body and neck and flattened head (Figure 9 and Figure S5) (Pizzigalli et al. 2021). Coloration in life. See diagnosis. In addition, pileus almost uniform, with faded spots, sometimes distinctly spotted with small dark spots. Fore limbs uniformly sandy-brown, hind legs brownish with faded whitish ocelli. Almost uniform sandy/brown tail with indistinct spots disappearing in the second half of its length. Ventral coloration white, sometimes turning to yellow on the undertail, at least in the specimens from the north of the range (Pizzigalli et al. 2021). |
| Comment | Synonymy: MERTENS 1922: 174 stated that this species is synonymous with Eremias guttulata. |
| Etymology | Named after Hans Simon, apparently the collector of the types. The epithet “saharae” refers to the Atlantic Sahara region where this new subspecies is distributed. |
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