''Philochortus phillipsi'', known
commonly as Phillips' orangetail lizard or Phillips' shield-backed lizard, is a
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
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
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 ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
.
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 ...
, ''phillipsi'', is in honor of British naturalist
Ethelbert Lort Phillips.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Philochortus phillipsii'', p. 206).]
Geographic range
''P. phillipsi'' is found in
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Description
''P. phillipsi'' is a small lizard with a very long tail. A male specimen with a total length of has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of and a tail long.[
]
Reproduction
''P. phillipsi'' 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
* Boulenger GA (1898). "On a Second Collection of Reptiles made by Mr. E. Lort-Phillips in Somaliland". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Seventh Series'' 2: 130–133. (''Latastia phillipsii'', new species, pp. 131–132).
*Boulenger (1917). "On the Lizards of the Genus ''Philochortus'' Matschie". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1917: 145-157 + Plates I-II. (''Philochortus phillipsii'', new combination, pp. 148-150 + Plate I, figures 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4).
* Lanza B (1990). "Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography". ''Biogeographia'' 14: 407–465.
*Largen, Malcolm; Spawls, Stephen (2010). ''The Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea''. Frankfurt am Main: Edition Chimaira / Serpents Tale. 694 pp. . (''Philochortus phillipsi'', p. 360).
* Parker HW (1942). "The Lizards of British Somaliland (With an appendix on Topography and Climate by Capt. R. H. R. Taylor, O. B. E.)". ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College'' 91 (1): 1–101. (''Philochortus phillipsi'', p. 76).
Philochortus
Lacertid lizards of Africa
Reptiles of Ethiopia
Reptiles of Somalia
Reptiles described in 1898
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
{{Lacertidae-stub