Uromastyx geyri

{{Short description|Species of lizard}}

{{speciesbox

| image = 2017-05-07 AT Wien 22 Donaustadt, Palmenhaus Hirschstetten, Uromastyx geyri (51198260071).jpg

| image_caption = Uromastyx geyri, Saharan Uromastyx

| status = NT

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = Wilms T, Wagner P, Niagate B (2018). "Uromastyx geyri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T198536A2531409. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/198536/2531409. Downloaded on 20 December 2020.

| status2 = CITES_A2

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}

| genus = Uromastyx

| species = geyri

| authority = (L. Müller, 1922)

| synonyms = *Uromastix geyri
{{small|L. Müller, 1922}}

  • Uromastyx acanthinurus geyri
    {{small|— Mertens, 1962}}
  • Uromastyx geyri
    {{small|— Wilms & Böhme, 2001}}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

Uromastyx geyri is a species of lizard belonging to the family Agamidae. The species is native to North Africa.

Common names

Common names for U. geyri include Geyr's dabb lizard, Geyr's spiny-tailed lizard,{{EMBL species|genus=Uromastyx|species=geyri}} www.reptile-database.org. the Sahara mastigure, the Saharan spiny-tailed lizard, the Saharan yellow uromastyx, and the yellow Niger uromastyx.

Geographic range

U. geyri is found in parts of Algeria, Mali, and Niger.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of U. geyri is rocky desert, at altitudes of {{cvt|500|–|2,000|m|ft}}.

Etymology

The generic name, Uromastyx, is derived from the Ancient Greek words ourá (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and mastiga (μαστίγα) meaning "whip" or "scourge", after the thick-spiked tail characteristic of all Uromastyx species.

The specific name, geyri, is in honor of German zoologist Hans Geyr von Schweppenburg.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Uromastyx geyri, p. 100).

Description

U. geyri is a relatively small, slender species for the genus, with an average total length (including tail) of around {{convert|34|cm|in|abbr=on}}. This lizard is usually beige or orange with lighter spots. It is one of the brightest-colored species of the genus Uromastyx. There are two phases of U. geyri, the "red" geyri and "yellow" geyri, color being their only difference. The red phase is often nearly solid reddish to neon pumpkin orange, and the yellow phase is in or near a neon-range. Females are a more pale color than the males, showing more tan variations of the coloring and much less belly coloring as well as less vivid patterns, most females having a simple "freckling" on the back. "Saharans" are medium-sized lizards, many averaging {{convert|11|-|14|in|cm|abbr=on}} in total length, and weighing {{convert|250|g|oz}} or more as adults.

Behavior

U. geyri is terrestrial and diurnal.

Diet

U. geyri is predominately herbivorous.

Reproduction

U. geyri is oviparous. An adult female may lay a clutch of as many as 20 eggs.

Gallery

Saharan_Spiny-tailed_Lizard,_Uromastyx_geyri.jpg|Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Centre, UK

Blumengärten Hirschstetten 2016-02-21 Dornschwanzagame (Uromastyx geyri) a.jpg|Blumengärten Hirsch­stetten, Vienna, Austria

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • Mertens R (1962). "Bemerkungen über Uromastyx acanthinurus als Rassenkreis ". Senckenbergiana Biologica 43: 425–432. (Uromastyx acanthinurus geyri, new combination and new taxonomic status). (in German).
  • Müller L (1922). "Über eine neue Uromastix-Art aus der Zentral-Sahara [= About a new Uromastix species from the Central Sahara]". Naturwissenschaftlicher Beobachter, Frankfurt 63: 193-201. ("Uromastix [sic] geyri ", new species). (in German).
  • Wilms T, Böhme W (2001). "Revision der Uromastyx acanthinura – Artengruppe, mit Beschreibung einer nueuen Art aus der Zentralsahara (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae)". Zoologische Abhandlungen aus dem Staatlichen Museum für Tierkunde in Dresden 51 (8): 73–104. (in German).