Psammodromus hispanicus FITZINGER, 1826
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Psammodromus hispanicus?
Psammodromus hispanicus
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae (Gallotiinae), Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Spanish Psammodromus G: Spanischer Sandläufer, Iberischer Sandläufer D: Spaanse Zandloper |
| Synonym | Psammodromus hispanicus FITZINGER 1826: 22 Psammodromus hispanicus hispanicus — MERTENS 1925 Psammodromus hispanicus — MALKMUS 1982: 277 Psammodromus hispanicus — ENGELMANN et al 1993 Psammodromus hispanicus — FITZE et al. 2012 Psammodromus hispanicus — LIVIGNI 2013: 290 Psammodromus hispanicus — SPEYBROECK et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | C Spain; Terra typica restricta: south of Spain Type locality: restricted to South of Spain (MERTENS & MÜLLER 1940) Neotype locality: Perales de Tajuña, Madrid, (Spain) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Neotype: MNCN-CSIC, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain (MNCN/ ADN 41745), designated by FITZE et al. 2012. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): see Arnold 1973: 347. |
| Comment | Subspecies: SINDACO & JEREMCENKO 2008 state that edwardsianus is not accepted by any authors (!?). Nevertheless, FITZE et al. 2012 revalidated P. h. edwardsianus and suggested to elevate it to full species status, a decision followed by several subsequent authors. Distribution: not in Portugal (P. Fitze, pers. comm.). P. hispanicus hispanicus (Fitzinger 1826) and P. hispanicus edwardsianus (Dugès 1829) can be easily distinguished by the absence or presence of a supralabial scale below the subocular scale, respectively (Boulenger 1921, Mertens 1925, Pérez-Mellado 1998). P. hispanicus can be distinguished from P. algirus by the smaller body size, a shorter tail length that rarely exceeds 2 x SVL, absence of pterygoid teeth, presence of a gular fold and distinct collar scales, and pres- ence of two central ventral rows of clearly narrower scales compared to scales of adjoining rows. P. microdactylus can be distinguished from the other species by the absence of a gular fold. In 40 % of P. microdactylus kind of a collar could be detected, while a collar was present in 100% of the other species (Table 1 in FITZE et al. 2012). The only character that allows distinguishing between P. blanci and P. microdactylus (at least in old museum specimens) is the presence/absence of the diffuse gular fold. However, there are specimens that show intermediate characters. Type species: Psammodromus hispanicus FITZINGER 1826: 22 is the type species of the genus Psammodromus FITZINGER 1826. |
| Etymology | Named after the origin of the species in Spain. Psammodromus edwarsianus has been named after H. Milne Edwards. Note, however, that the original spelling “Lacerta Edwarsiana” can be found four times in the description (three times in the text, once in the table) hence this spelling is not an incorrect original spelling and Article 32.5 of the Code (ICZN 1999) does not apply (CROCHET 2015). The genus is named after Greek ψαμμο, "sand" + dromus, meaning "a runner." |
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