Stenodactylus mauritanicus Guichenot 1850

Nocturnal. Takes refuge under rocks and stones.

Not listed

A small- to medium-sized gecko, robust, with maximum recorded SVL 43 mm. Head large and snout short and rounded; nostrils slightly swollen; neck indistinct. Limbs short and thick. Tail much shorter than SVL and thick. Cloacal tubercles usually in one row and do not protrude strongly at the base of the tail. Average tail/SVL ratio = 0.62. Three nasals, first supralabial, and rostral usually enter the nostril. Dorsals rough and granular, intermixed with a few slightly larger scales. Dorsals slightly larger than ventrals. Ventrals uniform. Digits thick and short, very slightly laterally compressed. One row of tricarinate subdigital scales. Pre-anal pores usually absent. Dorsal coloration sandy or grayish, with irregular brown bands intermixed with whitish or yellowish spots. Iris grayish. Usually an irregular brown line extends behind the eyes across the occipital region. Some dark mottling present on labials and sometimes on throat and sides of neck. Tail with 6-9 dark and light bands, which increase in contrast distally, becoming almost black and white along its terminal portion. All ventral sides are white.

The Mediterranean coast west of the Delta to the Libyan border, generally within 50 km from the coast. The furthest inland records are of specimens from Wadi El Natrun.

Mauritania to northwestern Egypt. In both Libya and Egypt it is found within the Mediterranean coastal desert, further west it largely occurs to the south of the Atlas Mountains.

In Egypt it is restricted to fairly mesic coastal semi-desert under the influence of the Mediterranean. Inhabits flat rock-strewn sand and gravel plains with fairly good vegetation cover. Range largerly coincides with the zone of high density of the Desert Snail Eremina sp.

Locally common; however, its habi­tat is under severe human pressure. Vast areas are being lost or degraded every year.

Stenodactylus mauritanicus is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is found in Northern Africa.

Stenodactylus mauritanicus est une espèce de geckos de la famille des Gekkonidae.