The shovel-snouted lizard (Meroles anchietae), also known commonly as Anchieta's desert lizard, Anchieta's dune lizard and the Namib sand-diver, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Etymology The specific name, anchietae, is in honor of Portuguese naturalist José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, who was an explorer of Africa.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Meroles anchietae, p. 8).
Geographic range M. anchietae is found in Angola and Namibia.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of M. anchietae is desert, with aeolian sand dunes and sparse vegetation, at altitudes from sea level to .
Description Adults of M. anchietae have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about . Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Meroles anchietae, pp. 164–165 + Plate 56).
Diet M. anchietae preys upon insects, especially small beetles, as well as fresh plants. Some individuals in the Namib Desert have been observed to eat seeds occasionally, while others consume seeds exclusively. Such seeds are typically eaten in their green, unripe phase, and could thus be considered a form of herbivory rather than granivory.
Reproduction M. anchietae is oviparous.
References
Further reading Arnold EN (1989). "Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertidae: relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology 55 (2): 209–257. (Meroles anchietae, new combination). Bocage JVB (1867). "Descriptions of two new Saurians from Mossamedes (West Africa)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 20: 225–228. (Pachyrhynchus anchietæ, new species, pp. 227–228, Figures 1–2). Loveridge A (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History 22 (1): 1–122. (Aporosaura anchietae, p. 63).