Mesalina watsonana explained

Mesalina watsonana, known commonly known as the Persian long-tailed desert lizard, is a species of sand-dwelling lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Etymology

The specific name, watsonana, is in honor of "Mr. H.E. Watson" who was a Civil Officer in Pakistan.^[1]

Geographic range

Mesalina watsonana occurs in, from west to east, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Reproduction

Mesalina watsonana is oviparous.

Further reading

• Nilson G, Andrén C (1981). "Die Herpetofauna des Kavir-Schutzgebietes, Kavir-Wüste, Iran ". Salamandra 17 (3/4): 130–146. (Mesalina guttulata watsonana, p. 138). (in German, with an abstract in English, and bilingual image captions).
• 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. Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
• Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Eremias guttulata watsonana, pp. 389–390).
• Stoliczka F (1872). "Notes on Reptiles, collected by Surgeon F. Day in Sind". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1872: 85–92. ("Eremias [Mesalina] Watsonana", new species, pp. 86–87).

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Mesalina watsonana, p. 280).