Shovel-snouted lizard

The shovel-snouted lizard (Meroles anchietae), also known commonly as Anchieta's desert lizard, Anchieta's dune lizard and the Namib sand-diver, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Shovel-snouted lizard
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Meroles
Species:
M. anchietae
Binomial name
Meroles anchietae
(Bocage, 1867)
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Pachyrhynchus anchietæ
    Bocage, 1867
  • Aporosaura anchietæ
    — Boulenger, 1887
  • Aporosaura anchietae
    — Loveridge, 1936
  • Meroles anchietae
    — Arnold, 1989

Etymology

The specific name, anchietae, is in honor of Portuguese naturalist José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, who was an explorer of Africa.[4]

Geographic range

M. anchietae is found in Angola and Namibia.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. anchietae is desert, with aeolian sand dunes and sparse vegetation, at altitudes from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).[1]

Description

Adults of M. anchietae have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 5 cm (2.0 in). [5]

Diet

M. anchietae preys upon insects, especially small beetles. During dry periods when insects are scarce, it will eat seeds.[5]

Reproduction

M. anchietae is oviparous.[2]

References
  1. Baptista N, Bauer AM, Becker F, Conradie W (2020). "Meroles anchietae ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T196981A110221608. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T196981A110221608.en. Downloaded on 12 April 2020.
  2. Meroles anchietae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 May 2019.
  3. Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. (Aporosaura anchietæ, new combination, p. 117).
  4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Meroles anchietae, p. 8).
  5. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Meroles anchietae, pp. 164–165 + Plate 56).

Further reading
  • Arnold EN (1989). "Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertidae: relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology 55 (2): 209–257. (Meroles anchietae, new combination).
  • Bocage JVB (1867). "Descriptions of two new Saurians from Mossamedes (West Africa)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 20: 225–228. (Pachyrhynchus anchietæ, new species, pp. 227–228, Figures 1–2).
  • Loveridge A (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History 22 (1): 1–122. (Aporosaura anchietae, p. 63).



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