Acanthodactylus

Acanthodactylus
File:Acanthodactylus-scutellatus 20100816 8186.JPG
Acanthodactylus scutellatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Sauria
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Acanthodactylus Wiegmann, 1834
Species
ca. 40. See text.

Acanthodactylus is a genus of lacertid lizards, commonly referred to as fringe-fingered lizards or fringe-toed lizards (though the latter common name is also used for the New World lizard genus Uma).

Geographic range

The approximately 40 species are native to a wide area in North Africa, southern Europe and Western Asia; across the Sahara Desert, to the Iberian Peninsula, and east through the Arabian Peninsula, to Afghanistan and western India.

Habitat

Though lizards of the genus Acanthodactylus prefer dry and sparsely vegetated regions, they are not strictly tied to an arid terrain; so it is not uncommon to come across them in various environments.

Description

Members of the genus possess the following combination of traits:

• Lacking occipital scales.
• Flat ventral scales.
• Fingers with three or four series of scales.
• Toes with comb-like projections.
• Femoral pores present.
• Parietal foramen present.

The coloration and pattern of spots of Acanthodactylus is extremely variable, so it is unsurprising that zoologists have, at one time or another, classified every variety as a separate species.

Behavior

Every saurian of this genus is very aggressive and gets continuously involved in skirmishes with other members of its species. The males strenuously defend the borders of their territories.

Reproduction

Acanthodactylus are oviparous. The number of eggs in a clutch ranges from 3 to 7. The total length of a sexually mature adult of the genus is, on average, 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in).

Classification

Genus Acanthodactylus

2

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Acanthodactylus.

Further reading

• 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. (Genus Acanthodactylus, p. 58).

• Wiegmann AFA. 1834. Herpetologica Mexicana, ... Pars Prima, Saurorum Species, ... Berlin: C.G. Lüderitz. vi + 54 pp. + Plates I-X. (Acanthodactylus, p. 10).

External links

• Acanthodactylus: Fringe-Fingered Lizards

• ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
• Salvador A. 1982. A revision of the lizards of the genus Acanthodactylus (Sauria: Lacertidae). Bonn. Zool. Monogr. (16): 1–167.