Philochortus hardeggeri

Philochortus hardeggeri
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Philochortus
Species:	P. hardeggeri
Binomial name
Philochortus hardeggeri (Steindachner, 1891)
Synonyms [2]
Latastia hardeggeri Steindachner, 1891 Eremias heterolepis Boettger, 1893 Latastia heterolepis (Boettger, 1893) Latastia degeni Boulenger, 1903

Philochortus hardeggeri, also known commonly as Hardegger's orangetail lizard and Hardegger's shield-backed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to the Horn of Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, hardeggeri, is in honor of Austrian physician Dominik Kammel von Hardegger (1844–1915), who explored Ethiopia and Somalia. ^[3]

Geographic range

P. hardeggeri is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. ^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of P. hardeggeri are desert and savanna, at altitudes below 1,100 m (3,600 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

P. hardeggeri is oviparous. ^[2]

Taxonomy

Philochortus hardeggeri was originally described as Latastia hardeggeri, a species new to science, by Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner in 1891. In 1917 the species was assigned to the genus Philochortus as Philocortus hardeggeri by Belgian-British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger. Boulenger also determined that two other species, Eremias heterolepis Boettger, 1893 and Latastia degeniBoulenger, 1903 are junior synonyms of Philocortus hardeggeri. ^[2]

References

1. Mazuch T (2021). "Philocortus hardeggeri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13152004A13152014.en. Accessed on 26 December 2023.
2. Philochortus hardeggeri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 16 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. (Philochortus hardeggeri, p. 116).

Further reading

• Lanza B (1983). "A List of the Somali Amphibians and Reptiles". Monitore Zoologico Italiano. Supplemento18 (1): 193–247. (in English, with an abstract in Italian).
• Largen MJ, Spawls S (2010). Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira / Serpents Tale. 694 pp. ISBN   978-3899734669. (Philochortus hardeggeri, p. 359).
• Loveridge A (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History22 (1): 1–111.
• Steindachner F (1891). "Ueber neue und seltene Lacertiden aus den herpetologischen Sammlungen des k. k. naturhistorischen Hofmuseums ". Annalen des kaiserlich-königlichen naturhistorischen Hofmuseums, Wien6: 371–378 + Plates XI–XII. (Latastia hardeggeri, new species, pp. 371–373 + Plate XI, figures 1–3). (in German).