Sinai agama

Last updated

Sinai agama
AgamaSinaita01 ST 10 edit.jpg
Male
Agama2 ST.jpg
Female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Genus: Pseudotrapelus
Species:
P. sinaitus
Binomial name
Pseudotrapelus sinaitus
(Heyden, 1827)
Synonyms
  • Agama sinaitia
    Heyden, 1827
  • Agama arenaria
    Heyden, 1827
  • Agama straminea
    Lichtenstein, 1845
  • Agama lichtensteini
    Gray, 1845
  • Agama sinaitica
    Rüppell, 1845
  • Trapelus sinaiticus
    Tristram, 1888
  • Agama neumanni
    Tornier, 1905
  • Pseudotrapelus sinaita
    Moody, 1980

The Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus) is an agamid lizard found in arid areas of southeastern Libya, eastern Egypt, [2] Israel, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, eastern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.

Contents

The length of the lizard including its long slender tail is 18 cm (7 in), the tail accounting for up to two-thirds of its total length. The limbs and tail are long and thin and allow for good climbing and running capability.

Pseudotrapelus sinaitus is active during daytime and feeds on insects and other arthropods and plants. During the breeding season, males become a striking blue colour to attract females. The female has brownish-red spots on her sides.

Description

The Sinai agama is a small lizard with long legs, giving it an upright stance. It grows to a length of 18 cm (7 in) and has a long, slender tail, one and a half times as long as the body. The long head has the eyes fairly near the front with a distinctive pair of ear openings some way behind in line with the animal's mouth. The legs are long and slender and the tail is often held off the ground. This lizard is generally a dull brown colour, but during the breeding season, the male turns bright blue, or sometimes just the head and throat turn blue with the other parts remaining brown. Females and juveniles are greyish-brown all year round, but females often have a crescent-shaped red patch on each side just behind the forelimbs. [3] The scales on the dorsal surface are relatively small, uniformly overlapping, and slightly keeled. The mid-back scales are slightly larger than elsewhere, and the scales on the tail are larger than those on the back. Unlike members of the closely related genus Agama , the third (middle) toe is the longest instead of the fourth. [4]

Distribution

The Sinai agama is found in arid parts of northeastern Africa and parts of the Middle East. The countries where it occurs include Libya, Egypt, [2] South West Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Syria. [5]

Behaviour

The Sinai agama hunts for insects and a large part of its diet consists of ants. Breeding takes place in spring and early summer when both the male and female become territorial. To maintain their territory, they adopt a threatening pose by raising their heads and gaping. The male finds a prominent spot where he can communicate with a prospective mate by bobbing his head, using eye movements, and doing push-ups with his front limbs. After mating has taken place, the female lays a clutch of five to nine eggs about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long. [3]

Like other lizards, the Sinai agama is ectothermic. In the daytime, they bask in the sun and are seen on boulders, cliffs, or piles of stone. Under these circumstances, any alarm or attempt at predation causes them to dash off at great speed. When the external temperature is lower, their body metabolism is lowered and they are incapable of sudden bursts of speed. Their instinct is to stand their ground and attack their aggressors. [6]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. [5]

Etymology

The subspecific name, werneri, is in honour of Israeli Herpetologist Yehudah L. Werner. [7]

The junior synonym, Agama neumanni, is in honor of German ornithologist Oscar Neumann. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Islands skink</span> Species of lizard

The Solomon Islands skink, also known as prehensile-tailed skink, monkey-tailed skink, giant skink, zebra skink, and monkey skink, is an arboreal species of skink endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is the largest known extant species of skink.

<i>Philochortus</i> Genus of lizards

Philochortus is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-legged buzzard</span> Species of bird

The long-legged buzzard is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long-legged buzzard is a member of the genus Buteo, being one of the larger species therein. Despite being relatively powerful, it is considered a rather sluggish raptor overall. Like most buzzards, it prefers small mammals such as rodents, including gerbils, ground squirrels, voles and rats, also taking reptiles, birds and insects as well as carrion. Adaptable to a variety of habitats, long-legged buzzards may nest on a variety of surfaces, including rocks, cliffs and trees. it is a typical buzzard in its reproductive biology. The long-legged buzzard is widely distributed and appears to be quite stable in population. Therefore, it is considered as Least Concern by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardwicke's bloodsucker</span> Species of lizard

Hardwicke's bloodsucker is an agamid lizard and found in South Asia.

<i>Calotes calotes</i> Species of lizard

Calotes calotes, the common green forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the forests of the Western Ghats and the Shevaroy Hills in India, and Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental garden lizard</span> Species of lizard

The oriental garden lizard, also called the eastern garden lizard, Indian garden lizard, common garden lizard, bloodsucker or changeable lizard, is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in Indo-Malaya. It has also been introduced in many other parts of the world.

<i>Cyrtopodion scabrum</i> Species of lizard

Cyrtopodion scabrum, also known as the rough-tailed gecko, rough bent-toed gecko, rough-tailed bowfoot gecko, common tuberculate ground gecko, or keeled gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Asia.

<i>Ophisops elegans</i> Species of lizard

Ophisops elegans, commonly known as the snake-eyed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Mediterranean region and Central Asia. There are nine recognized subspecies.

<i>Echis pyramidum</i> Venomous snake, a carpet viper

Echis pyramidum, known as the Northeast African carpet viper, Egyptian saw-scaled viper, and by other common names, is a species of viper endemic to Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shield-tailed agama</span> Species of lizard

The shield-tailed agama, also known commonly as the dwarf shield-tailed agama, Taylor's strange agama, and the turnip-tailed agama, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the Horn of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kleinmann's tortoise</span> Species of tortoise

Kleinmann's tortoise, also called commonly the Egyptian tortoise, Leith's tortoise, and the Negev tortoise, is a critically endangered species of cryptodire turtle in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to Egypt, Libya, and Israel/ Palestine. The species was once more widespread, but its numbers are now dwindling. The species is nearly extinct in Egypt, and complete extinction in the wild is a looming threat unless more actions are taken to protect this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian warbler</span> Species of bird

The Arabian warbler, also known as Red Sea warbler or Blandford's warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Sylviidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Its natural habitat is dry savanna country where it is often found in patches of Acacia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nile Valley sunbird</span> Species of bird

The Nile Valley sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen.

<i>Agama agama</i> Species of lizard

The common agama, red-headed rock agama or rainbow agama is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae found in most of sub-Saharan Africa. To clear up centuries of historical confusion based on Linnaeus and other authors, Wagner et al. designated a neotype for the species, using a previously described specimen from Cameroon in the collection of the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. The species name was formerly applied to a paraphyletic collection of taxa ; subsequent mitochondrial DNA analysis of various populations indicates they represent separate species. Consequently, three former subspecies A. a. africana, A. a. boensis, and A. a. mucosoensis are now considered separate species, and A. a. savattieri is considered synonymous with A. africana.

Yehudah Leopold Werner is an Israeli herpetologist and Professor Emeritus at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosc's fringe-toed lizard</span> Species of lizard

Bosc's fringe-toed lizard or Bosk's [sic] fringe-fingered lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to North Africa and Western Asia. Three subspecies are sometimes recognised; A. boskianus boskianus, from Lower Egypt; A. boskianus euphraticus from Iraq; and A. boskianus asper from the rest of the range; however this division is unsatisfactory because each subspecies has much variation and the differences between them are not consistent.

<i>Uromastyx ornata</i> Species of lizard

Uromastyx ornata, commonly called the ornate mastigure, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae.

The Egyptian mouse-tailed bat is a species of mouse-tailed bat found in North Africa and the Middle East.

<i>Acanthocercus adramitanus</i> Species of lizard

Acanthocercus adramitanus, also known commonly as Anderson's rock agama or the Hadramaut agama, is a small species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula.

References

  1. Els, J.; Al Johany, A.M.H.; Amr, Z.S.S.; Soorae, P.; Joger, U.; Disi, A.M.; Werner, Y.L. (2021). "Pseudotrapelus sinaitus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T199676A2609071. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T199676A2609071.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Baha El Din, Sherif [in German] (2006). A Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN   9789774249792.
  3. 1 2 "Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus)". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  4. Heyden CHG von (1827). "Reptilien ". pp. 1-24. In: Rüppell E (1826-1828). Atlas zu Reise im nördlichen Afrika. l. Zoologie. Frankfurt am Main: H. L. Brönner. (Agama sinaita, new species, pp. 10-12 + Plate 3). (in German and Latin).
  5. 1 2 Uetz, Peter. "Pseudotrapelus sinaitus (Heyden, 1827)". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  6. Hertz, Paul E.; Huey, Raymond B.; Nevo, Eviatar (1982). "Fight versus flight: Body temperature influences defensive responses of lizards". Animal Behaviour. 30 (3): 676–679. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(82)80137-1.
  7. 1 2 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. (Agama neumanni, p. 189; Pseudotrapelus werneri, p. 282).

Wikispecies-logo.svg Data related to Sinai agama at Wikispecies