''Mesalina simoni'', known
commonly as Simon's desert racer, is a
species of
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 ...
in the
family 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 ...
. The species is
endemic to
Morocco.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''simoni'', is in honor of Hans Simon who was a German collector of natural history specimens.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Mesalina simoni'', p. 244).]
Geographic range
In Morocco ''M. simoni'' is found on the central coast of the
Atlantic Ocean.
Habitat
The natural habitat of ''M. simoni'' is rocky areas.[
]
Reproduction
''M. simoni'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Boettger O (1881). "''Diagnoses Reptilium Novorum Maroccanorum'' ". ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 4: 570–572. ("''Podarces (Mesalina) Simoni'' ", new species, pp. 571–572). (in Latin).
*Schleich, H. Hermann; Kästle, Werner; Kabisch, Klaus (1996). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa: Biology, Systematics, Field Guide''. Koenigstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books. 627 pp. . (''Mesalina simoni'', p. 428).
*Sindaco, Roberto; Jeremčenko, Valery K. (2008). ''The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic: 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia''. Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
Mesalina
Endemic fauna of Morocco
Reptiles of North Africa
Reptiles described in 1881
Taxa named by Oskar Boettger
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
{{lacertidae-stub