''Uromastyx benti'', also known
commonly as Bent's mastigure and the Yemeni spiny-tailed 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 ...
Agamidae
Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards.
Overview
phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...
. The species is native to the southeastern
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''benti'', is in honor of English explorer
James Theodore Bent
James Theodore Bent (30 March 1852 – 5 May 1897) was an English explorer, archaeologist, and author.
Biography
James Theodore Bent was born in Liverpool on 30 March 1852, the son of James (1807-1876) and Eleanor (née Lambert, c.1811-1873) ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Uromastyx benti'', p. 23).]
Geographic range
''U. benti'' is found in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and
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 ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''U. benti'' is rocky areas, at altitudes of .
[
]
Diet
''U. benti'' is herbivorous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
, and its diet includes dry grasses.[
]
Reproduction
''U. benti'' 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 ...
.[ Breeding takes place once a year, and ]clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
size is 6–12 eggs.[
]
References
Further reading
* Anderson J (1894). "On Two new Species of Agamoid Lizards from the Hadramut, South-eastern Arabia". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series'' 14: 376–378. (''Aporoscelis benti'', new species, pp. 376–377).
* Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (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''. (Monographs of the ''Societas Herpetologica Italica''). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
* Zilger H-J, Zwanzig B-M, Grossman W, Kowalski T, Ballandat S (2016). "''Neue Angaben zur Verbreitung der Jemen-Dornschwanzagame'' Uromastyx benti ''(Anderson, 1894) im Sultanat Oman'' New data on the distribution of the Yemeni Spiny-tailed Agama ''Uromastyx benti'' in the Sultanate of Oman. ''Sauria'' 38 (4) : 3–7. (in German).
Uromastyx
Reptiles described in 1894
Taxa named by John Anderson (zoologist)
{{agamidae-stub