Saara asmussi

Saara asmussi, also known commonly as the Iranian mastigure and the Persian spiny-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard belonging to the family Agamidae.[2][3] The species is endemic to Asia.

Saara asmussi
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Genus: Saara
Species:
S. asmussi
Binomial name
Saara asmussi
(Strauch, 1863)
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Centrotrachelus asmussi
    Strauch, 1863
  • Uromastix asmussii
    — Boulenger, 1885
  • Uromastyx asmussi
    — Wermuth, 1967

Etymology

The specific name, asmussi, is in honor of Baltic German paleozoologist Hermann Martin Asmuss.[3]

Geographic range

S. asmussi occurs in Afghanistan, southern Iran, and Pakistan.[3]

Description

S. asmussi may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 26 cm (10 in), and a tail length of 21 cm (8.3 in).[4]

Diet

S. asmussi eats leaves, stems, and seeds of herbaceous plants.[4]

Behavior

S. asmussi excavates a burrow in which it shelters. If disturbed it lashes its heavy spiky tail in defense.[4]

Reproduction

S. asmussi is oviparous.[3]

References
  1. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  2. "Taxonomy browser (Saara asmussi)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. Saara asmussi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 February 2021.
  4. Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Uromastix asmussi, pp. 247–248).

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. ... Agamidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I–XXXII. (Uromastix asmussii, new combination, p. 409).
  • Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (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. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.
  • Strauch A (1863). "Characteristik zweier neuen Eidechsen aus Persien [= Characteristics of Two New Lizards from Persia]". Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg 6: 477–480. (Centrotrachelus asmussi, new species, pp. 479–480). (in German).



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