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12 May 2016

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard – Haradh

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.
Bosk's fringe-toed lizard

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard