Sahara Spiny-tailed Lizard Uromastyx geyri

The Sahara Spiny-tailed Lizard is native to rocky, mountainous terrain in the central Sahara spanning northeast Mali, Niger and southern Algeria.

The Spiny-tailed Lizards of North Africa and the Middle East have spiny tails used for defence and flat bodies with loose skin which enable them to hide in narrow rock crevices.

The breeding male (above left and centre) is one of the most colourful of the Uromastyx spiny-tailed genus, with bright orange sides (varying from red-orange to yellow-orange) and a black spotted back on a whitish background, above, or bright red all over. The female (above right) is plainer, with some speckling.

It is a medium-sized lizard, with males growing up to a foot in length. The live in burrows with long, angled, entrance tunnels out of the hot sun during the day. They can live for some 20 years.