A very poorly-known genus of lacertids centred on the East Africa region. I have been unable to find much information on them, and even the bibliography sources listed in the EMBL database are often fairly meagre or old. From the common name of "racerunner" for P. smithii or the generic name of "Greater Race runner" one assumes that these are similar to the Eremias species, which may indicate a short lifespan in the wild.
| Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
| Pseuderemias |
| P. brenneri |
|
NE Sudan, E Ethiopia, S Eritrea (?), Djibouti, Somalia, N Kenya |
?" |
Scalation details: 4 nasals; subocular does not touch lip; head scales striated; toes unicarinate. Coloration: 5 dark longitudinal stripes with white spots on all except the middle. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit]. |
| P. erythrosticta |
|
Somalia |
?" |
Scalation details: subocular does not contact lip: keeled dorsal scales in 53-60 rows: 8 ventral rows: posterior subcaudals keeled, upper caudals feebly keeled. Coloration: irregular number of longitudinal stripes. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit]. |
| P. mucronata |
|
E Egypt (including Sinai Peninsula), E Sudan, E Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, N Somalia |
?" |
Scalation details: subocular may or may not contact lip: smooth dorsal scales in 65-80 rows: 6-8 ventral rows: posterior subcaudals smooth, upper caudals strongly keeled. Coloration: 5 longitudinal stripes. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit]. |
| P. savagei |
|
N Somalia |
?" |
The holotype for this species was collected in the early 60s from sand dunes dotted with small bushes. The following details are from the over 50 male and female specimens collected during the same exhibition. Scalation details: 4 nasals; frontal separated from supraoculars by small granules; subocular reaches lips; 5-7 labials anterior to subocular; 5-7 supraciliaries. Upper head shields smooth. Dorsal scalation: 55-72 dorsal rows across body. Ventral scalation: 10 longitudinal rows, 23-28 transverse rows. Other: compressed toes, unicarinate subdigital lamellae, upper caudals strongly carinated, posterior subcaudals smooth. 15-22 femoral pores. Coloration: 5 longitudinal but often broken dark dorsal stripes: larger individuals tend to be more uniform, while in the smaller the dark longitudinal zones tend to be sharper: median stripe usually very thin, without or with only a few light spots, whereas the other stripes are wider with many light spots. Blackish dots may be absent or imposed on the striped pattern. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit]. |
| P. septemstriata |
|
Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia |
"? |
Scalation details: subocular contacts lip: smooth or keeled dorsal scales in 54-68 rows: 8 ventral rows: posterior subcaudals smooth or keeled, upper caudals strongly keeled. Coloration: 7 longitudinal stripes. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit]. |
| P. smithii |
Smith's Racerunner |
Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya |
7" |
Scalation details: subocular does not reach lip; head shields and dorsal scales smooth; ring of granules around supraoculars; posterior subcaudals are keeled; 8 ventral longitudinal rows. Coloration: 5 longitudinal dark stripes, of which the lateral are broken up. [SOURCE: Gans, Laurent and Pandit].. |
| P. striata |
Peter's Sand Lizard |
Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia |
SVL 4.7cm, TL 16 cm |
There seems to be little known about this species: SHDA note that it was last seen in Kenya over a century ago. Its range would therefore appear to be more properly Somalia and Ethiopia. Scalation details: subocular borders mouth; head shields strongly striated. Collar: curved, 8-12 plates. Dorsal scalation: body scales small, juxtaposed and keeled, in 53-67 rows at midbody. Ventral scalation: scales broader rather than long, except for the outer rows which are narrow: 8 longitudinal rows, 25-28 transverse rows. Other: snout weakly concave; 13-18 femoral pores beneath each thigh; 22-25 unicarinate lamellae beneath 4th toe. Coloration: dorsally cream to pale buff with 7 brown or black streaks which are wider than the spaces between them; ventral surfaces are white. Juveniles have 4 white streaks separated by black; either the whole belly or merely the sides are black or blackish. |
| P. s. striata |
| P. s. gardoensis |