Whilst birdwatching in Haradh, Phil Roberts found a lizard in a small
area of trees and hard sandy ground. The lizard was clearly a fringe-toed
Lizard, but one I had not seen before and thus did not know its identity. Luckily
a local birdwatcher, Mansur Al Fahad, whi is very knowledgeable on insects,
lizards and other wildlife identified it from my photos as a Bosk's fringe-toed
lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus,
This is the most widespread species of its genus as well as the largest Acanthodactylus species throughout its
range, measuring 16-23 centimeters in total length, which includes all of
Saharan North Africa and the Middle East including Arabia, the Levant and
Mesopotamia (including the Turkish border), as well as north- western Iran. It frequents
a range of stony and sandy environments and is sometimes common in rocky areas
with some shrubs.
