Template:POTD/2020-02-18

Picture of the day

Bosc's fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus) is a medium-sized species of lizard found in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Active during the day, they are energetic foragers for insects and other small invertebrates, and are one of the most common lizards in their range. Males and females are similar in appearance, both having a snout-to-vent length of between 5 and 8 cm (2.0 and 3.1 in), but males are usually larger. The feet have long slender digits that are fringed. The dorsal surface is olive-grey with five longitudinal dark stripes, the middle one of which subdivides at the neck, while the ventral surface is whitish, but in the female, the underside of the tail becomes suffused with red during the breeding season. In juveniles, the tail is blue.

This picture shows two A. b. asper lizards photographed in Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan, engaging in a love bite, a courtship ritual that may be connected to certain chemical cues present in the skin.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

This picture of the day has been featured on Portal:Reptiles.