Mesalina pasteuri (BONS, 1960)
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Mesalina pasteuri
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Pasteur's Lizard |
| Synonym | Eremias pasteuri BONS 1960 Eremias pasteuri — PAPENFUSS 1969: 296 Mesalina pasteuri — SZCZERBAK 1975 Mesalina pasteuri — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 423 Mesalina pasteuri — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 |
| Distribution | Central Sahara (Morocco, S Algeria, Niger), Western Sahara, W Mauritania, Mali, NW Egypt Type locality: Amguit (Ahaggar) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 1932.0141 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The distribution of this species is centered in central Sahara. This species is beige with one middorsal and two lateral white stripes on each side; the stripes are separated by narrow white or yellowish lines; ocelli are absent. The middorsal line continues for some distance onto the tail. Like M. rubropunctatus, M. pas- teuri occupies the driest regions, but unlike the former species it does estivate. Another difference is its prefer- ence for mobile sands with tufts of grass and sand dunes, whereas M. rubropunctatus prefers stony, rocky areas. As with the latter species, population densities are extremely low. The lizards stay sheltered at noon during the summer months. Only small food items such as aphids, ants, termites and insect larvae are taken. M. pasteuri is eaten by a number of predators including scorpi- ons, one species of wind scorpion, the Desert Monitor Varanus griseus, various snakes and crows. Diagnostic features include 4 – 5 (usually 5) supralabials in front of the subocular; 2 (sometimes 3 plus smaller) translucent scales, with 2 – 3 smaller ones on low anterior margins. Body with granular or subimbricate, smooth or slightly keeled scales in 34 – 41 rows at midbody; 10 longitudinal and 28 – 33 transverse rows. Large anal plate surrounded by two series of preanals. Femoral pores 10 – 14 beneath each thigh. Sexual maturity probably reached in 1 year (Bons, 1960, Yousefkhani et al. 2015). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after French herpetologist, geneticist, and evolutionary biologist Georges Pasteur (1930-2015). He made important contributions to the systematics of Lygodactylus and several other reptiles. See Ineich 2016 for an obituary. |
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