Mesalina pasteuri

Mesalina pasteuri
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertoidea
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Mesalina
Species:	M. pasteuri
Binomial name
	Mesalina pasteuri; (Bons, 1960)
Synonyms
	Eremias pasteuri; Bons, 1960; Mesalina pasteuri; — Szczerbak, 1975;

Last updated October 02, 2025

Mesalina pasteuri, also known commonly as Pasteur's lizard, is a species of sand-dwelling lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to North Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, pasteuri, is in honor of French biologist Georges Pasteur.^[3]

Geographic range

M. pasteuri occurs in Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, and Western Sahara.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of M. pasteuri is desert.^[1]

Description

M. pasteuri may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 5 cm (2.0 in). The holotype, which measures 3.9 cm (1.5 in) SVL, has a tail 9.2 cm (3.6 in) long.^[4]

Reproduction

M. pasteuri is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 Wilms, T.; Wagner, P.; Niagate, B.; Slimani, T.; Mateo, J.A.; El Mouden, E.H.; Geniez, P.; Joger, U.; Baha El Din, S. (2013). "Mesalina pasteuri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T198384A2523009. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T198384A2523009.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
1 2 3 Mesalina pasteuri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 12 May 2019.
↑ 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. (Mesalina pasteuri, p. 201).
↑ Bons (1960).

Bons, Jacques (1960). "Description d'un nouveau lézard du Sahara: Eremias pasteuri, sp. nov. (Lacertidés) ". Comptes rendus des séances mensuelles de la Société des Sciences naturelles et physiques du Maroc (4): 69–71. (Eremias pasteuri, new species). (in French).
Schleich, H. Hermann; Kästle, Werner; Kabisch, Klaus (1996). Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa: Biology, Systematics, Field Guide. Koenigstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books. 627 pp. ISBN 978-3874293778. (Mesalina pasteuri, p. 423).
Sindaco, Roberto; Jeremčenko Valery K. (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic: 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.
Trape, Jean-François; Trape, Sébastien; Chirio, Laurent (2012). Lézards, crocodiles et tortues d'Afrique occidentale et du Sahara. Paris: IRD Orstom. 503 pp. ISBN 978-2709917261. (in French).

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[iucn_status_19_November_2021-1] 1 2 Wilms, T.; Wagner, P.; Niagate, B.; Slimani, T.; Mateo, J.A.; El Mouden, E.H.; Geniez, P.; Joger, U.; Baha El Din, S. (2013). "Mesalina pasteuri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T198384A2523009. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T198384A2523009.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 3 Mesalina pasteuri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 12 May 2019.

[3] 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. (Mesalina pasteuri, p. 201).

[4] Bons (1960).

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