Uromastyx alfredschmidti WILMS & BÖHME, 2001
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Uromastyx alfredschmidti
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Uromastycinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Schmidt’s Mastigure, Schmidt’s Spiny-tailed Lizard G: Schmidts Dornschwanzagame |
| Synonym | Uromastyx alfredschmidti WILMS & BÖHME 2000 Uromastyx alfredschmidti — WILMS 2007 Uromastyx alfredschmidti — WILMS et al. 2009 Uromastyx alfredschmidti — TAMAR et al. 2017 |
| Distribution | SW Libya, SE Algeria Type locality: Tassili N’Ajjer, Tamrit Plateau (1600 m elevation), approx. 30 km northeast Djanet, Algeria. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZFMK 24643, adult male, leg. Dr. G. Wangorsch, 22.07.1974; Paratypes: MHNN, MHNG, NMW. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: U. alfredschmidti is distinguished from U. thomasi and U. princeps by the longer and narrower tail (79.31–87.26 % of SVL in U. alfredschmidti vs. 25.00–36.16 % in U. thomasi and 34.62–52.55 % in U. princeps); from the species of the U. ocellata group and U. macfadyeni by the arrangement of the annuli of the tail: last 8–21 forming a continuous scale row each (U. ocellata group and U. macfadyeni) vs. 2–3 whorls forming a continuous scale row in U. alfredschmidti; from U. aegyptia and U. occidentalis by the lower scale counts around midbody (238–322 in U. aegyptia, 297–301in U. occidentalisvs. 138–202 in U. alfredschmidti), from U. acanthinura, U. nigriventris and U. disparby its longer tail (79.31–87.26 % of SVL in U. alfredschmidti vs. 50.27–74.42 in U. acanthinura, 47.83–70 % in U. dispar and 43.48–75.14 % in U. nigriventris). From U. geyri it is distinguished by differences in the scalation of the flanks (enlarged triangular and imbricate scales in U. alfredschmidti vs. enlarged tubercular scales in U. geyri), as well as the complete black colouration of adult males in U. alfredschmidti. |
| Comment | Phylogenetics: The genetic divergence of Uromastyx alfredschmidti and U. geyri is among the lowest in the genus, and they share alleles even between samples from distant localities, not presenting any geographic structure. These unexpected results may stem from a recent speciation event (Figure 2 in Tamar et al. 2017), thus the lack of substantial time to accumulate genetic divergence. However, the two species are morphologically distinct, even though they are sympatric in the Tassili N’Ajjer area in Algeria; Tamar et al. retain them as valid species and advocate for further taxonomic scrutiny with other sources of data to fully evaluate the status of these two taxa. Distribution: not in the Hoggar Mountains, Algeria (Sindaco et al. 2012). |
| Etymology | Named after Alfred A. Schmidt (born 23 Dec 1923), German herpetoculturista and patron. See Obst 2013 for biographical details. |
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