|
|
Eublepharis afghanicus
Type locality & Distribution
Mainly from the Lowgar province of Afghanistan ( along side Pol-e-Alam
near Alazi ) but it is also fairly distributed through out the Vardak
and Paktika provinces along the Shinkay hills in Afghanistan.
Color Pattern
The dorsal color of adults straw yellow to bright to pale yellow, dorsum
with some scattered with blue-black spots, in some cases discrete and
sparse and in others fusing into a reticulum. A continous light verteberal
stripe, bordered on each side in some specimens by a very light colored
broken black stripe from occiput to base of tail, majority are uniformly
colored in yellow.
Head with a pattern of dark and light reticlations, no horsehoe shaped
mark dark or light, on nape. Limbs with numerous light blotches, tail
with numerous irregular dark transverse markings, wider than the light
interspaces, venter light tan. A juvenile has three light yellow
transverse bars across dorsum, first on posterior part of neck and shoulders,
second at midbody, third anterior to sacral region, middle bar largest,
approximately aqual to lighter interspaces, which are interspersed with
dark tubercles, margins of dark bars than their central portions
Size
On an average large male specimens meassure about 15.5 to 16 cm in (S-V)
Snout-Vent length and females meassure about 14.5 cm to 15 cm S-V length.
Habitat
They inhabit the rocky deserts and sparse grasslands with clay soil
but avoid sand. In the wild they live in large colonies and are quite
abundant from mid-April until late May although late collections is
not uncommon that is till the end of August to mid September. Our collection
areas are centered along the Gardeyz and Pol-e-Alam stretch.
|
