Atlas dwarf lizard

The Atlas dwarf lizard (Atlantolacerta andreanskyi ) is the only species in the genus Atlantolacerta, a genus in the wall lizard family, Lacertidae.[2]

Atlas dwarf lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Atlantolacerta
Arnold, Arribas & Carranza, 2007
Species:
A. andreanskyi
Binomial name
Atlantolacerta andreanskyi
(F. Werner, 1929)
Synonyms[2]
  • Lacerta andreanskyi
    F. Werner, 1929
  • Teira andreanskyi
    — Mayer & Bischoff, 1996
  • Atlantolacerta andreanskyi
    — Arnold, Arribas & Carranza, 2007

Etymology

The specific name, andreanskyi, is in honor of Hungarian botanist Gábor Andreánszky.[3]

Geographic range

A. andreanskyi is endemic to Morocco, where it is restricted to the High Atlas mountain range, at 2,400 to 3,800 m (7,900 to 12,500 ft) above sea level.

Ecology

Although A. andreanskyi is generally considered to be rare, animals are often well hidden in vegetation and may occur at higher densities than was first assumed. They can be very common in favourable conditions and are found in alpine meadows, scree, amongst boulders, and in areas of thorn cushion vegetation and thickets. They have long hibernation periods.

Reproduction

The females of A. andreanskyi lay three clutches of between one and three eggs per year.

Conservation status

A. andreanskyi does not appear to be threatened, but it does occur in readily accessible areas, most especially by hikers.

References
  1. Geniez P (2006). "Atlantolacerta andreanskyi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2006: e.T61518A12500447. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61518A12500447.en. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. "Atlantolacerta andreanskyi ". The Reptile Database.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Atlantolacerta andreanskyi, p. 9).

Further reading
  • Arnold EN, Arribas O, Carranza S (2007). "Systematics of the Palaearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with descriptions of eight new genera". Zootaxa 1430: 1-86. (Atlantolacerta, new genus, p. 63).
  • Werner F (1929). "Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer zoologischen Forschungreise nach Westalgerien und Marokko ". Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien 138: 1-34. (Lacerta andreanskyi, new species, pp. 4–5). (in German).


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