Psammodromus blanci

Blanc's sand racer
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Psammodromus
Species:	P. blanci
Binomial name
Psammodromus blanci (Lataste, 1880)
Synonyms[2]
Zerzoumia blanci Lataste, 1880 Psammodromus blanci — Boulenger, 1887

Psammodromus blanci, also known commonly as Blanc's sand racer or Blanc's psammodromus, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to North Africa.^[1]

Etymology

It has been claimed that the specific name, blanci, and the common name, Blanc's sand racer, are in honor of Swiss zoologist Henri Blanc,^[3] however it is in fact named after its Algerian discoverer Marius Blanc.^[4]

Geographic range

P. blanci is found in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.^[1]

Habitat

The natural habitats of Blanc's sand racer are temperate forest, temperate shrubland, and pastureland, at altitudes of 1,000–1,200 m (3,300–3,900 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

P. blanci is oviparous.^[2] A sexually mature female may lay four or five clutches a year. Each clutch contains two to five eggs.^[1]

Conservation status

P. blanci is threatened by habitat loss.^[1]

References

1. Joger, U.; Slimani, T.; El Mouden, H.; Martínez-Solano, I.; Geniez, P. (2009). "Psammodromus blanci". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61559A12491750. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61559A12491750.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. Psammodromus blanci at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
3. Beolens B; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
4. Lataste, F. (1880). "Diagnoses de reptilies nouveaux d'Algerie". Le Naturaliste. 2 (38): 299.

Further reading

• Bischoff W, in den Bosch HAJ (1991). "Zur Kenntnis von Psammodromus blanci (Lataste, 1880): Morphologie, Verbreitung, Ökologie und Paarunsbiologie". Salamandra 27 (3): 163–180. (in German, with an abstract in English).
• Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Psammodromus blanci, pp. 48–49).
• Lataste F (1880). "Diagnoses de reptiles nouveaux d'Algérie". Le Naturaliste 1: 299, 306–307, 325. (Zerzoumia blanci, new species, p. 299). (in French).