Xenagama wilmsi
| Xenagama wilmsi | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Xenagama wilmsi | ||||||||||||
| Wagner , Mazuch & Bauer , 2013 |
Xenagama wilmsi (Wilms' Biberschwanzagame) is a Biberschwanzagame from the family of Agamas . It was in 2013 by Philip Wagner ( Museum Koenig , Bonn ), Tomas Mazuch (Czech Republic) and Aaron M. Bauer ( Villanova University , Pennsylvania, USA) for the first time described and comes in East Africa (Somalia and Ethiopia) ago.
features
It is a large species of the genus with a short, plump head. Males reach a head-trunk length of up to 96.5 mm, the tail is shorter than the head and trunk. The total length in males is up to 149 mm. The tail is only slightly widened at the base and longer than that of the species Xenagama batillifera and Xenagama taylori . The narrow part of the tail is the same length or longer than the widened part.
The scales on the head are smooth or keeled, the occiput is small, not larger than the largest scales, and the apex is visible. The ear openings are smaller than the eyes, the tympanum (eardrum) is clearly visible on the body surface. The body scaling is inconsistent with small, smooth dorsal scales which are irregularly interspersed with larger, keeled, somewhat thorny scales. The vertebral scales are smooth to weakly keeled, larger than the scales on the flanks but somewhat smaller than the enlarged, keeled scales. The ventral scales are smooth and about the same size as the enlarged back scales. The scales on the top of the enlarged tail base are keeled and usually thorny. There are 98-108 scales in a row around the middle of the body. The third toe is the longest, the fourth toe with 11–13 subdigital lamellae.
The top of the head and body of animals prepared in ethanol are colored in several shades of brown. Between the limbs there is an indistinct pattern of four brownish horizontal stripes with a few dark rimmed, pale eye spots (ocelli). The enlarged dorsal scales are pale, which makes the animals look speckled. The back is a little darker than the front and the flanks. On the shoulders, in front of the arms, there is an indistinct dark spot. The belly and the underside of the tail are dirty white, the throat and chest are blue.
distribution and habitat
Xenagama wilmsi is common in the desert regions of northern Somalia and Ethiopia at altitudes of 880 to 1800 meters. Most commonly, they are found on the border of Ogaden to Somalia , two copies, however, were found in central Ethiopia. Areas of discovery were grasslands with loamy soil, low bushes and plants such as aloe megalacantha and, in exceptional cases, acacias.
Way of life
Xenagama wilmsi usually lives in self-built tubes, but was also found under large stones at water holes. Some specimens had their living tubes under the stones and their tails could be seen from above. At the end of November only adult males could be found, in June also pregnant females and recently hatched young animals. In European captivity, two females laid five to eight eggs from which 29 to 42 mm long young animals hatched after 70 to 80 days at 27 to 28 ° C in an incubator .
Naming
The lizard was named in honor of the zoo curator for mammals at the Frankfurt Zoo , Thomas Wilms . For a long time he has dedicated himself to the study of biodiversity in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The unusual naming attracted a lot of media attention. Dennis Rödder said in this context: "It has been shown time and again that even today larger vertebrate species can be described and biodiversity is still far from being comprehensively recorded."
literature
- Philipp Wagner, Tomas Mazuch, Aaron M. Bauer: An extraordinary tail - integrative review of the agamid genus Xenagama. In: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. Vol. 51, No. 2, 2013, pp. 144–164, doi : 10.1111 / jzs.12016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ ReptileDatabase
- ^ A b Philipp Wagner, Tomas Mazuch, Aaron M. Bauer: It was more than made clear that something like this is not heard repeatedly. . In: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. Vol. 51, No. 2, 2013, pp. 144-164.
- ↑ a b c d Philipp Wagner: Xenagama wilmsi - a new beaver tail agame. In: Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig. Annual report. 2012, ZDB -ID 2785198-9 , p. 65, online (PDF; 2.57 MB) ( Memento from February 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ New species: Bonn zoologist discovers lizard with beaver tail. Practical tail: zoologists discover lizards with a thick end. Mirror online. Retrieved November 17, 2014.