Mesalina watsonana

Mesalina watsonana, also known commonly as the Persian long-tailed desert lizard, is a species of sand-dwelling lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Mesalina watsonana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Mesalina
Species:	M. watsonana
Binomial name
Mesalina watsonana (Stoliczka, 1872)
Synonyms[1]
Eremias (Mesalina) watsonana Stoliczka, 1872 Mesalina watsonana — Murray, 1884 Eremias guttulata watsonana — M.A. Smith, 1935 Mesalina guttulata watsonana — Nilson & Andrén, 1981 Mesalina watsonana — Bischoff, 1995

Etymology

The specific name, watsonana, is in honor of "Mr. H.E. Watson" who was a Civil Officer in Pakistan.[2]

Geographic range

M. watsonana occurs in, from west to east, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.[1]

Reproduction

M. watsonana is oviparous.[1]

References

1. Mesalina watsonana at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 12 May 2019.
2. 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. (Mesalina watsonana, p. 280).

Further reading

• Nilson G, Andrén C (1981). "Die Herpetofauna des Kavir-Schutzgebietes, Kavir-Wüste, Iran ". Salamandra 17 (3/4): 130–146. (Mesalina guttulata watsonana, p. 138). (in German, with an abstract in English, and bilingual image captions).
• Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic: 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.
• Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Eremias guttulata watsonana, pp. 389-390).
• Stoliczka F (1872). "Notes on Reptiles, collected by Surgeon F. Day in Sind". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1872: 85–92. ("Eremias [Mesalina] Watsonana", new species, pp. 86-87).