''Latastia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Lacertidae The Lacertidae are the family (biology), family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group o ...

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of this genus are distributed in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesZambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

) but one

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

(''Latastia longicaudata andersonii'') lives in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

.The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Collectively, they are known as long-tailed lizards.

Etymology

Jacques von Bedriaga Jacques Vladimir von Bedriaga (last name sometimes spelled Bedryagha) (1854 - 1906) was a Russian herpetologist who was a native of Kriniz, a village near Voronezh. In scientific papers Bedriaga would sometimes alter his name to agree with the la ...

named this genus in honor of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

herpetologist

Fernand Lataste Fernand Lataste (1847 - 1934) was a French zoologist and herpetologist born in Cadillac, Gironde. From 1880 to 1884 he collected reptiles and amphibians in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco), publishing ''"Les missions scientifiques de ...

Diagnosis

Species of ''Latastia'' are medium to large-sized lacertids with long cylindrical tails. The unregenerated tail is up to 3.2 times longer than head and body. Eyes with movable lids. The nostril is surrounded by 3-5 scales and usually reaches the first

supralabial In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...

. The collar is well marked. Ventral plates smooth and in 6 longitudinal series (sometimes 8-10 with outer plates small). The dorsal scales are homogenous, small and granular or imbricate. There are no expanded scales along the mid-back line as in ''

Philochortus ''Philochortus'' is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Etymology ''Philochortus'' means ...

''. Femoral pores are present on the inside of the thighs, more prominent in males. Tail base in males much broader than in females.Boulenger 1921

Habitat and natural history

Most long-tailed lizards of the genus ''Latastia'' inhabit well vegetated sandy or gravelly plains and large

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s in western and eastern Africa. They can be found in

semidesert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

scrubland and deciduous ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

''-'' Commiphora'' bushland where scrubby undergrowth is plentiful, in moist

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and high grassland Spawls et al. 2002 or in

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

fields. ''Latastia boscai boscai'' and ''L. b. burii'' are known to occur in stony and rocky localities.Loveridge 1936 Species of ''Latastia'' are distributed from sea level to 2000 m altitude. They are diurnal, heliophilous and terrestrial, extremely wary fast-running lacertids which wander over large territories but forage mostly within vegetation cover during the heat of the day. They dart out into the sun to capture

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and other

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s, after which they retreat into shady areas beneath bushes (

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

). All species lay eggs but clutch details are known only for ''L. longicaudata''. The population in

(''L. l. longicaudata'') produces clutches of 5-7 eggs between July and September Cissé, M. & Karns, D.R. 1978 while females of ''L. l. revoili'' in southeastern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

lay only 3-4 eggs/clutch. Hatchlings appear during the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

Species

The

is composed of 10 recognized

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are described for ''

Latastia boscai ''Latastia boscai'', also known commonly as the Eritrea longtail lizard or Bosca's long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to East Africa and the Horn of Africa. There are three recognized subs ...

'', '' L. doriai'', and '' L. longicaudata''. *''

'' Bedriaga, 1884 - Eritrea long-tailed lizard, Bosca's long-tailed lizard **''L. b. boscai'' Bedriaga, 1884 **''L. b. arenicola''

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

, 1942 **''L. b. burii''

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1907 *'' Latastia caeruleopunctata''

, 1935 - Parker's long-tailed lizard *''

Latastia cherchii ''Latastia cherchii'' is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Somalia. Etymology The specific name, ''cherchii'', is in honor of Italian herpetologist Maria Adelaide Cherchi. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; ...

'' Arillo, Balletto & Spanò, 1967 *''

Latastia doriai ''Latastia doriai'', also known commonly as Doria's long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Horn of Africa. There are three recognized subspecies. Geographic range ''L. doriai'' is fou ...

'' Bedriaga, 1884 - Doria's long-tailed lizard **''L. d. doriai'' Bedriaga, 1884 **''L. d. martensi'' Bedriaga, 1884 **''L. d. scorteccii'' Arillo, Balletto & Spanò, 1967 *'' Latastia johnstoni''

, 1907 - Johnston's long-tailed lizard, Nyasaland long-tailed lizard *''

Latastia longicaudata ''Latastia longicaudata'', also known as the southern long-tailed lizard or common long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard found in Senegal, Mali, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ni ...

'' (

Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) *Reuss (river) in Switzerland *Reuss (state) or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the Republic of Reuss *Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line (House of Reuss), members incl ...

, 1834) - southern long-tailed lizard, common long-tailed lizard **''L. l. longicaudata'' (

, 1834) **''L. l. andersonii''

, 1921 **''L. l. lanzai'' Arillo, Balletto & Spanò, 1967 **''L. l. revoili'' ( Vaillant, 1882) *'' Latastia ornata'' Monard, 1940 *'' Latastia petersiana''

Mertens __NOTOC__ Mertens () is a surname of Flemish Origin, meaning "son of Merten" (Martin). It is the fifth most common name in Belgium with 18,518 people in 2008. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 43.4% of all known bearers of the surname ''Merte ...

, 1938 - Peters's long-tailed lizard *''

Latastia siebenrocki ''Latastia siebenrocki'', also known commonly as Siebenrock's longtail lizard or Siebenrock's long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Guinea. Etymology The specific name, ''siebenrocki'', ...

'' ( Tornier, 1905) - Siebenrock's long-tailed lizard *'' Latastia taylori''

, 1942 - Taylor's long-tailed lizard Latastia longicaudata revoili

'' Latastia petersiana'' is the new name for ''Latastia carinata'' . ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Latastia''.

References

External links

*For photos of many species and subspecies see "Bildarchiv" under species at: http://www.lacerta.de/AS/Taxon.php?Genus=39 {{Taxonbar, from=Q946579 Lizard genera Taxa named by Jacques von Bedriaga