About Acanthodactylus dumerilii (Milne-Edwards, 1829)
Duméril's fringe-fingered lizard, scientifically named Acanthodactylus dumerilii, is overall yellowish brown, a coloration shared by many other fringe-fingered lizards. It has a gracile, elongated body, and long fingers that bear fringe-like scales – the feature that gives the whole genus its common name. This species can be told apart from Acanthodactylus longipes by the contrasting dark brown or black spots that cover its dorsal surface. Its typical native habitat lies in the deserts of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Tunisia, and the Western Sahara. In the Erg Chebbi and M’hamid regions of southern Morocco, it occurs alongside Acanthodactylus longipes, even though these two closely related species prefer distinct habitats. Duméril's fringe-fingered lizard avoids vegetation-free deserts. It is most commonly found at the edges of dunes that have grown over with bushes and halfa grass (Stipa tenacissima), or it lives in sparsely vegetated soil, where it digs and occupies its burrows. Acanthodactylus dumerilii is an oviparous species.
