Philochortus hardeggeri

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.

Philochortus hardeggeri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Philochortus
Species:
P. hardeggeri
Binomial name
Philochortus hardeggeri
(Steindachner, 1891)
Synonyms[2]
  • Latastia hardeggeri
    Steindachner, 1891
  • Eremias heterolepis
    Boettger, 1893
  • Latastia heterolepis
    (Boettger, 1893)
  • Latastia degeni
    Boulenger, 1903

Etymology

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The specific name, hardeggeri, is in honor of Austrian physician Dominik Kammel von Hardegger (1844–1915), who explored in Ethiopia and Somalia.[3]

Geographic range

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P. hardeggeri is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia.[2]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitats of P. hardeggeri are desert and savanna, at altitudes below 1,100 m (3,600 ft).[1]

Reproduction

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P. hardeggeri is oviparous.[2]

Taxonomy

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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 Boettger, 1893 and Latastia degeni Boulenger, 1903 are junior synonyms of Philocortus hardeggeri.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mazuch T (2021). "Philocortus hardeggeri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13152004A13152014.en. Accessed on 26 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Philochortus hardeggeri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 16 May 2019.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Philochortus hardeggeri, p. 116).

Further reading

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  • 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. ISBN 978-3899734669. (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).