Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus)

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard portrait
Bosk's fringe-toed lizard portrait

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard fact file

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard description

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyLacertidae
GenusAcanthodactylus (1)

In common with other lacertids, Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus) has a long, cylindrical body and well developed legs (3). It is one of the largest Acanthodactylus species (2), a genus commonly referred to as the fringe-toed lacertids, owing to the presence of a series of scales on the fingers that provide traction for running over loose sand (3) (4). The general body colour of this species ranges from darkish or silvery grey, to yellow or reddish brown, with seven contrasting dark, brown longitudinal stripes that run the length of the back. With age, these stripes generally fade away or become grey in colour (2).

Also known as
Bosc’s fringe-toed lizard.
Synonyms
Lacerta aspera, Lacerta boskiana, Lacerta longicauda, Scapteira inaequalis.
Size
Male length: 24.5 cm (2)
Female length: 20.5 cm (2)
Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard biology

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard excavates burrows in hard sand, some of which are equipped with multiple entrances to allow quick retreats. These burrows not only provide protection from predators, but also act as a nightly resting place and as a refuge from periods of intense heat. A relatively late riser, this diurnal lizard generally emerges from its burrow around mid-morning. It is a voracious predator, with a diet that comprises a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates, from flies and beetles to grasshoppers and spiders. Generally, it will eat anything it can overwhelm and has even been observed taking a young gecko (2).

During courtship the male approaches the female with a bent neck, and then runs in semi-circles, whilst probing the female’s body with its tongue. If receptive, the female lies flat and lifts the base of the tail, allowing the male to make cloacal contact. The eggs are laid about two weeks after mating in a deep hole in moist ground, which is subsequently covered up. The eggs, which normally number from around two to seven in a clutch, remain buried for 89 to 100 days before hatching (2).

Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard range

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard is the most widespread of all species in the genus, with a distribution that encompasses a large portion of Northern Africa and extends into the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey (2) (5).

Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard habitat

Occurs in arid regions, on open sand or clay ground, with vegetation or rocks for cover (2).

Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard status

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard has not yet been classified on the IUCN Red List.

Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard threats

While the conservation status of Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard is yet to be assessed on the IUCN Red List, there are no known major threats to this species.

Top

Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard conservation

There are no known conservation measures in place for Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard.

Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi is a principal sponsor of ARKive. EAD is working to protect and conserve the environment as well as promoting sustainable development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Top

Find out more

Find out more about reptile conservation:

  • International Reptile Conservation Foundation:
    www.ircf.org
Top

Authentication

This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk

Top

Glossary

Cloacal
Relating to the cloaca,a common cavity into which the reproductive, alimentary and urinary systems open.
Diurnal
Active during the day.
Genus
A category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.
Invertebrates
An animal with no backbone.
Lacertids
Old World terrestrial lizard.
Top

References

  1. Catalogue of Life: Annual Checklist (April, 2009)
    http://www.catalogueoflife.org
  2. Schleich, H.H., Kästle, W. and Kabisch, K. (1996) Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa: Biology, Systematics, Field Guide. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein.
  3. Pianka, E.R. and Vitt, L.J. (2003) Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  4. Halliday, T. and Adler, K. (2002) The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  5. Rastegar-Pouyani, N. (1999) First Record of the Lacertid Acanthodactylus boskianus (Sauria: Lacertidae) for Iran. Asiatic Herpetological Research, 8: 85-89.

More »Related species

Schmidt’s fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus schmidti)Saudi fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus gongrorhynchatus)Be’er Sheva fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus beershebensis)Leopard fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus pardalis)Snake-tailed fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus opheodurus)Nidua fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus scutellatus)Schreiber's fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus schreiberi)Small-fingered psammodromus (Psammodromus microdactylus)

This species is featured in:

This species is featured in Jewels of the UAE, which showcases biodiversity found in the United Arab Emirates in association with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

Please donate to ARKive today

Help us share the wonders of the natural world. Donate today!

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.

Get involved

ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!

X
Close

Image credit

Bosk's fringe-toed lizard portrait  
Bosk's fringe-toed lizard portrait

© Jan Ševcík

Jan Sevcik
http://www.sevcikphoto.com

X
Close

Link to this photo

ARKive species - Bosk’s fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus) Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.

Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.

Read more about

X
Close

MyARKive

MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.

X
Close

Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials

Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.

Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:

  • view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
  • download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
  • teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.

End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.

Additional use of flagged material

Green flagged material 

Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.

Creative commons material

Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.

Any other use

Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.

Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.