Philochortus hardeggeri explained
Philochortus hardeggeri, also known commonly as Hardegger's orangetail lizard and Hardegger's shield-backed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to the Horn of Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, hardeggeri, is in honor of Austrian physician Dominik Kammel von Hardegger (1844–1915), who explored in Ethiopia and Somalia.[1]
Geographic range
P. hardeggeri is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of P. hardeggeri are desert and savanna, at altitudes below .
Reproduction
P. hardeggeri is oviparous.
Taxonomy
Philochortus hardeggeri was originally described as Latastia hardeggeri, a species new to science, by Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner in 1891. In 1917 the species was assigned to the genus Philochortus as Philocortus hardeggeri by Belgian-British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger. Boulenger also determined that two other species, Eremias heterolepis and Latastia degeni are junior synonyms of Philocortus hardeggeri.
Further reading
- Lanza B (1983). "A List of the Somali Amphibians and Reptiles". Monitore Zoologico Italiano. Supplemento 18 (1): 193–247. (in English, with an abstract in Italian).
- Largen MJ, Spawls S (2010). Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira / Serpents Tale. 694 pp. . (Philochortus hardeggeri, p. 359).
- Loveridge A (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History 22 (1): 1–111.
- Steindachner F (1891). "Ueber neue und seltene Lacertiden aus den herpetologischen Sammlungen des k. k. naturhistorischen Hofmuseums ". Annalen des kaiserlich-königlichen naturhistorischen Hofmuseums, Wien 6: 371–378 + Plates XI–XII. (Latastia hardeggeri, new species, pp. 371–373 + Plate XI, figures 1–3). (in German).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
