''Eremias strauchi'',
commonly known as Strauch's racerunner, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Lacertidae
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found i ...
. The species is native to
Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...
. There are no
subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''strauchi'', is in honor of Russian herpetologist
Alexander Strauch
Alexander Strauch (1 March 1832, in Saint Petersburg – 14 August 1893, in Wiesbaden, Germany) was a Russian naturalist, most notably a herpetologist.
In 1861 he started working as a curator of the zoological museum at the Imperial Academy of Sci ...
.
Geographic range
''E. strauchi'' is found in southern
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
, southern
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, northeastern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
, and northeastern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''E. strauchi'' is
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...
, at altitudes of .
Longevity and size
Using the skeletochronological method, 18 adults of ''E. strauchi'' living in eastern Turkey were studied for longevity and size. The maximum observed longevity was 7 years for males and 5 years for females. The average
snout–vent length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...
(SVL) was for males and for females.
Reproduction
''E. strauchi'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Franzen M, Heckes U (1999). "Eremias suphani '' Başoğlu & Hellmich, 1968 und'' Eremias strauchi ''Kessler, 1878 in der östlichen Türkei: Diagnostische Merkmale, Verbreitung und Lebensräume (Sauria: Lacertidae)''". ''Salamandra'' 35 (4): 255–266. (in German, with an abstract in English).
* Kessler KF (1878). " oological Expedition to Transcaucasian Territory in 1875. 'Transactions of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists''8: 1–200. (''Eremias strauchi'', new species, p. 166). (in Russian).
* Rastegar-Pouyani E, Yousefkhani SSH, Wink M (2015). "Taxonomic reevaluation of ''Eremias strauchi strauchi'' Kessler, 1878 and ''Eremias strauchi kopetdaghica'' Szczerbak, 1972, based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". ''Zoology in the Middle East'' 61 (2): 118–124.
* 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''. (Monographs of the ''Societas Herpetologica Italic''). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
Eremias
Reptiles described in 1878
Taxa named by Karl Kessler
{{Lacertidae-stub