Shovel-snouted lizard
| Shovel-snouted lizard | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Lacertidae |
| Genus: | Meroles |
| Species: | M. anchietae |
| Binomial name | |
| Meroles anchietae (Bocage, 1867) | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
The shovel-snouted lizard (Meroles anchietae), also known commonly as Anchieta's desert lizard, Anchieta's dune lizard and the Namib sand-diver, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, anchietae, is in honor of Portuguese naturalist José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, who was an explorer of Africa.[4]
Geographic range
[edit]Habitat
[edit]The preferred natural habitat of M. anchietae is desert, with aeolian sand dunes and sparse vegetation, at altitudes from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).[1]
Description
[edit]Adults of M. anchietae have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 5 cm (2.0 in). [5]
Diet
[edit]M. anchietae preys upon insects, especially small beetles, as well as fresh plants.[6] Some individuals in the Namib Desert have been observed to eat seeds occasionally, while others consume seeds exclusively.[6] Such seeds are typically eaten in their green, unripe phase, and could thus be considered a form of herbivory rather than granivory.[6]
Reproduction
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Baptista N, Bauer AM, Becker F, Conradie W (2020). "Meroles anchietae ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T196981A110221608. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T196981A110221608.en. Downloaded on 12 April 2020.
- 1 2 3 Meroles anchietae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 May 2019.
- ↑ Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. (Aporosaura anchietæ, new combination, p. 117).
- ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Meroles anchietae, p. 8).
- ↑ Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Meroles anchietae, pp. 164–165 + Plate 56).
- 1 2 3 Nagy, Kenneth A.; Shemanski, Danielle R. (2009-05-15). "Observations on diet and seed digestion in a Sand Dune Lizard, Meroles anchietae". African Journal of Herpetology. 58 (1): 39–43. doi:10.1080/21564574.2009.9635579. ISSN 2156-4574.
Further reading
[edit]- Arnold EN (1989). "Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertidae: relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology 55 (2): 209–257. (Meroles anchietae, new combination).
- Bocage JVB (1867). "Descriptions of two new Saurians from Mossamedes (West Africa)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 20: 225–228. (Pachyrhynchus anchietæ, new species, pp. 227–228, Figures 1–2).
- Loveridge A (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History 22 (1): 1–122. (Aporosaura anchietae, p. 63).
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