The Roughtail Rock Agama Laudakia stellio is also known as a Hardim or Star Lizard and is a
species of agamid lizard found in Greece, Central Macedonia, Turkey, Syria,
Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Jordan and Israel. Like
many agamas it can change colour to express its moods. The name ‘stellion’ comes
from Latin stellio, stēlio which
referred to any spotted lizard, from stella star. It has a flat triangular head
and a flat short body with long legs. It hibernates during winter. Its diet
consists of mainly insects and plants. They are a rock-dwelling species of
lizards inhabiting dry areas and even though it is very cautious and hides as
soon as it perceives danger, during the mating season the males defend their
territory by putting themselves in prominent positions, displaying their
intentions by a characteristic nodding movement of the head. It is a large (up
to 30 centimetres), robust lizard with a flattened, spiny body, a wide,
triangular head, long legs and a long tail. The neck is particularly spiny, and
rows of spines run across the body, flanks and tail and is capable of quite
rapid colour changes, typically becoming lighter when warm and darker when
cold. Dominant male starred agamas are particularly brightly coloured, often
showing reddish-brown, turquoise and tan markings. They are generally light or
dark brown to grey or charcoal-coloured, with a series of yellowish,
diamond-shaped markings along the back. The throat may be flecked with dark
spots, and the tail often has conspicuous bars. However, it is quite variable
in appearance across its range, with individuals from some areas having pale
yellow or red heads and unspotted throats. They have sharp claws that help it
to climb on rocks, walls, buildings and trees.
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| Rough tail Rock Agama |
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| Schmidt's Fringed-toed Lizard |
Schmidt's Fringed-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus schmidti is one of the
most abundant species in the genus Acanthodactylus
found in Saudi Arabia and occupies sandy plains, dunes and sabkhas (salt
flats), particularly in areas of scrubby vegetation. It was named after Karl
Patterson Schmidt, with a type locality of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and it can be
distinguished by the exceptionally long fourth toe found on each of its rear
feet. As its name suggests it has 'fringes' of elongated scales along the sides
of each toe, which are thought to provide better traction on loose sand. It has
a light brown or coffee coloured back that is richly speckled with oval-shaped,
pale or white spots and can grow to 18 centimetres in length. They have a
cylindrical body with smooth, rectangular scales on the belly which are
arranged in well-defined rows and scales on the head which are larger than
those on the rest of the body. Little is known about the biology of the species
but it is thought that its main prey is ants and when prey is located they
instantly go rigid, suddenly quiver thier tail and strike. It is a diurnal
species which digs burrows in the sand among the roots of vegetation and is
found throughout the Arabian Peninsula including Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, south-east Iraq and south-west Iran.