Least Concern
Medium to large lizards, maximum recorded SVL =119 m. Tail much shorter than body, average tail/SVL ratio = 0.6. Has the main characteristics of the genus. Usually 26 scales around mid-body; frontonasal nearly always separad from first loreal. Dorsal coloration sandy yellow with 8-9 brownish transverse bands (between the shoulder to the level of the vent); the sandy bands are roughly the same width as the brown bands or a little wider; head brownish gray. Venter white.
Found in areas of sand and dunes in North and central Sinai, northern Eastern Desert (south to Wadi Araba and locally along the eastern banks of the Nile Valley), and throughout suitable habitats in the Western Desert, where it has been recorded from all the major oases and in the periphery of the Qattara Depression.
Israel, Egypt, and eastern Libya.
A species of sandy biotopes, particularly aeolian sands, but can also be found in areas of fairly hard compacted sand, where small patches of soft sand might exist. Usually prefers areas with modest vegetation cover, but is often found in completely barren localities, such as in the Great Sand Sea.
Common and widespread.
