Latastia boscai, also known commonly as the Eritrea longtail lizard or Bosca's long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to East Africa and the Horn of Africa. There are three recognized subspecies.

Latastia boscai
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Latastia
Species:
L. boscai
Binomial name
Latastia boscai
Bedriaga, 1884

Etymology

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The specific name, boscai, is in honor of Spanish herpetologist Eduardo Boscá y Casanoves.[2] The subspecific name, burii, is in honor of British naturalist George Wyman Bury.[3]

Geographic range

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L. boscai is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.[1][4]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitats of L. boscai are desert, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,700 m (5,600 ft).[1]

Reproduction

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L. boscai is oviparous.[4]

Subspecies

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The following three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Spawls, S. (2021). "Latastia boscai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T21265797A21265811. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T21265797A21265811.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Latastia boscai, p. 32).
  3. ^ Boulenger GA (1907). "Descriptions of Two new African Lizards of the Genus Latastia". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Seventh Series 19: 392–394. (Latastia burii, new species, pp. 393–394).
  4. ^ a b c Latastia boscai at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 4 May 2019.

Further reading

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  • Bedriaga J (1884). "Die neue Lacertiden-Gattung Latastia und ihre Arten ( L. Doriai n. sp., var. Martensi m., Samharica Blanf. und Boscai n. sp.)". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova 20: 307–324. (Latastia boscai, new species, pp. 322–324). (in German).
  • Lanza B (1990). "Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography". Biogeographia 14: 407–465. (Latastia boscai, p. 426).
  • Largen MJ, Spawls S (2010). Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopea and Eritrea. Frankfurt am Main: Edition Chimaira / Serpents Tale. 694 pp. ISBN 978-3899734669. (Latastia boscai, p. 352).
  • Parker HW (1942). "The Lizards of British Somaliland". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 91: 1–101. (Latastia boscai arenicola, new subspecies, pp. 71–72).