Although it is a species of true desert, it is always found in association with some vegetation cover.
Least Concern
Small to medium lizard, adults up to 53 mm. Snout narrow, with rather swollen nasals; 5 supralabials anterior to the eye, subocular isolated from lip. Dorsal scales small, granular, smooth, or very slightly keeled at the mid-back. Average number of dorsals and ventrals at mid-body is 79 (range 68-90) and 14 (range 12-16), respectively; average number of femoral pores 19 (15-23) (based on a sample of 41 Egyptian specimens). Dorsal side of tibia usually covered with enlarged keeled scales. Digits with 4 rows of scales. All digits are strongly fringed, with subdigital scales more or less unicarinate. Dorsal surfaces pale sandy, almost plain, or with faint reticulation, more obvious on the sides of the body, forming into dark lateral lines along the base of the tail. Venter is white. Males usually have larger dorsal scales and more obvious reticulation than females. Ventral side of the tail in females white even during breeding season. Tail lemon yellow in juveniles. Hemipenis with one lobe; clavula flat, simple and 'U'-shaped in cross-section.
Very similar to A. scutellatus. Most Egyptian populations of A. longipes can be fairly easily distinguished from sympatric A. scutellatus by their smaller size, more slender build, finer granular dorsal scales, fewer femoral pores, smaller hemipenis, and the presence of clearly keeled enlarged scales on the dorsal surface of the tibia (these are fairly small, unkeeled, and of uniform size in A. scutellatus). Dorsum is generally sandy with finer, less contrasting reticulation (usually more grayish with stronger pattern in A. scutellatus. Juvenile A. longipes have lemon yellow tails, becoming straw colored in adults, while juvenile A. scutellatus have blue tails. Juvenile A. longipes have a well-marked dark V on the dorsal side of the tail base, which becomes obscure in most adults, particularly males. This is not present in A. scutellatus. A. longipes preserved in alcohol retain their general sandy color, while A. scutellatus attain a gray to blue-gray color.
There is a fair amount of sexual dimorphism in both species, which could lead to considerable confusion as to the identity of some animals. Indeed adult male A. longipes are very similar in appearance to A. scutellatus, because of their fairly strong dorsal pattern and coarse dorsals. On average male A. longipes have fewer dorsals than females (average 76.13(68-84) vs. average 81.68(70-90)), while male A. scutellatus have more dorsals than females (average 71.4(65-78) vs. average 67.9(59-76)). Male A. longipes have notably larger pre-anal plates than females, while in A. scutellatus there is no pronounced difference between the sexes in this feature. Males in both species have stronger dorsal pattern than females, consisting of spotting or reticulation (darker shades of brown in A. longipes, but almost always black in A. scutellatus). Female A. longipes are white on the ventral side of the tail even in the spring.
Small to medium sized lizard, adults up to 52 mm (SVL). Snout narrow, pointed, relatively short, with rather swollen nasals; 5 supralabials anterior to the eye; subocular isolated from lip. Dorsal scales small, granular, moderately enlarged and carinated at the mid-back line. Average maximal counts of dorsals and ventrals is 76.9 (range 68-88) and 13.8 (range 12-15), respectively; average number of femoral pores 18.5 (range 15-22) (based on a sample of 71 specimens of both sexes). Dorsal side of tibia covered with large keeled scales. Fingers with 4 rows of scales. All digits are strongly fringed; subdigital scales more or less unicarinate. Dorsal surfaces pale sandy, with rather faint reticulation, most obvious on the sides of the body, forming into a dark lateral line along the base of the tail. Hemipenis with one lobe; clavula flat, simple and " U"-shape in cross section.Dorsal surface pale sandy, with fine reticulation of whitish spots surrounded with reddish brown lines. Reticulation more obvious on the sides of the body, being rather less discernible on the mid back. Dorsal side of limbs with fine reticulation. A dark lateral line extends from the base of the tail almost to its tip. Venter is immaculate white. Under close examination, scales have a slight reflective (shiny) aspect.
Found in areas of sand dunes in North and central Sinai, northern Eastern Desert, and throughout suitable habitats in the Western Desert, where it has been recorded from all the major oases and in the periphery of the Qattara Depression. The southernmost specimen comes from Bir Kurayim.
It is found in sandy habitat, across North Sinai, the northermost part of the Eastern Desert, and throughout the northern Western Desert (west to longitude 28 E), where it has been recorded from some of the major oases (Bahariya, Kharaga, Wadi El Natrun), the easternmost edge of the Qattara Depression, and along the western periphery of the Nile valley. In Israel it is found in the sands of the north western Negev.It is almost certainly found in Palestine in Gaza, where it has been collected from along the border fence with Egypt at Rafah.
The range of A. longipes is known to extend from southern Morocco and Mauritania in the west to Egypt in the east, reaching the edge of the Sahel in the south. Baha El Din (1994a, 1996a) predicted that the species extends into the sands of the western Negev, where many Saharan faunal elements have their eastern limits. Werner (1998) confirmed its occurrence in the region.
Egypt, Israel, N Sinai
A lizard of fine soft sandy habitats. It is the commonest lizard to be found in dune and undulating sand habitats. A. longipes is in fact one of the most prominent components of Egypt's herpetofauna, being the dominant species of most reptile communities inhabiting soft sand habitats (particularly dunes) in the northern and western parts of the country.
Acanthodactylus longipes is found in extensive sympatry with A. scutellatus throughout its Egyptian range. The latter species, however, is more widespread, occurring in a greater diversity of sandy biotopes, including dunes, firm compacted sand and gravel plains, sandy wadis, and even frequently in fairly stony desert, while A. longipes is largely confined to softer sand, particularly dunes. Both Scortecci (1946) and Mellado (1993) noted generally similar habitat preference in the two species in Libya and Morocco respectively. In dune areas, where the two species are syntopic, A. scutellatus tends to inhabit more densely vegetated inter-dune troughs, while A. longipes is more regularly found on the higher parts of dunes, where the sand is finer and there is less cover. Arnold (1983) speculated that areas of sympatry among species of the A. scutellatus group are uncommon, because of the stringent nature of the environments, which these lizards usually inhabit. The evident extensive sympatry of A. scutellatus and A. longipes in Egypt indicates that even the most desolate of deserts might in fact be more complex than they appear. Minute differences in habitat preference (mainly ground softness and substrate mechanical composition) facilitate the coexistence of these two very similar species.
A lizard of fairly soft sandy habitats, particularly dunes. It occupy areas with an average of 10% plant cover.
Common and widespread
Acanthodactylus longipes, commonly called the long fringe-fingered lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to northwestern Africa.
A. longipes is found in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.[1]
Acanthodactylus longipes, commonly called the long fringe-fingered lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to northwestern Africa.
