Whilst birdwatching near Tabuk I found a
Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus opheodurus. Owing to its
superficial similarity to its larger congener Acanthodactylus boskianus,
the Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard was only described officially in 1980. As
its name suggests, this species has a particularly long tail and, in common
with other Acanthodactylus species, the toes are fringed with scales
adapted for running over loose sand. Like other lacertids, the body is long and
cylindrical, and the legs are well developed, with the animal having a basic
body colour of grey, with seven dark stripes running down the back and sides
and a tail tinged red in immatures. They live in a range of arid habitats,
including plains with relatively hard sand cover and low hills covered by dense
bushes. It is a diurnal lizard and lives in burrows excavated out of hard sand
where it remains concealed for all but a few hours of the day. Their burrows
not only act as a shelter from predators but also provide refuge from extreme
temperatures. The snake-tailed fringe-toed lizard is currently known from the
Arabian Peninsula and several other countries in the Middle East, including
Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. I thank Mansur Al Fahad for help with the
identification of this record.
