North African thorntail dragon
| North African thorntail dragon | ||||||||||||
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North African thorntail dragon ( Uromastyx acanthinura ) |
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| Uromastyx acanthinura | ||||||||||||
| Bell , 1825 |
The North-African Dornschwanzagame ( Uromastyx acanthinura ) is within the family of Agamen (Agamidae) for genus of Uromasticinae ( Uromastyx ).
description
The North African thorn- tailed dragon reaches a head-trunk length of around 45 cm, its tail around 28-30 cm. His body is flattened towards the bottom, which benefits his sunbathing. The head is dark gray to black, the rest of the body is gray-brown to reddish in color, with greenish to yellowish tints in places. Compared to the body, the head is quite small and resembles the head of a turtle .
Its strong legs , equipped with long claws , are ideally suited to dig underground structures in which it crawls as a diurnal animal at night. Its tail is quite thick and has keeled, pointed scales. It serves him in particular as a defense against predators. Males become significantly larger and have more developed thigh pores. The North African thorntail dragon can change its skin color to regulate its body temperature. In the morning hours his skin color is relatively dark and allows him to soak up plenty of sun.
distribution
The North African thorntail dragon is at home in northern Africa . The countries of the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic , Algeria , Morocco , Tunisia and Libya belong to the main distribution area. It inhabits arid areas , semi-deserts and savannas . Due to its very low water requirement, it is well adapted to this habitat .
food
She is a pure herbivore . Only young animals also consume animal food such as insects .
Reproduction
Depending on the distribution area, the mating season is between March and April. The advertising behavior of the males is reminiscent of push-ups. If a female willing to mate is found, the male bites into the female's throat and pushes his cloaca into the female's body opening. After a temperature-dependent incubation period of 80 to 120 days, the 15–20 eggs hatch about 8 cm long. Depending on their gender , they are sexually mature after three to five years and can reach an age of a good 20 years.
