Eumeces algeriensis

Present in Algeria and Morocco, the Eumeces algeriensis is characterized by massive head and trunk with solid legs. The males are bigger than the females and may exceed with the tail, little longer than the body, the 40 cm. The brown livery, with overlapped scales, displays orange-reddish bands and dark spots. It is a species that loves the sunny zones with bushy and herbaceous vegetation rich of stones and hideouts, such as the Mediterranean scrub land, but is also present in sandy zones, pastures and orchards. It digs deep dens where spends the night and the warmest hours of the day mainly nourishing of insects and mollusks. The females are ovoviviparous, the eggs are hence incubated inside the maternal organism and the young come to life already independent © Giuseppe Mazza