Mongolia Racerunner

About the Mongolia Racerunner

Eremias argus (Korean: 표범장지뱀, Chinese: 丽斑麻蜥, Russian: Монгольская ящурка), also known commonly as the Mongolia racerunner, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Asia. There are two recognized subspecies.

The specific name, argus, refers to Argus, the many-eyed giant in Greek mythology, an allusion to the ocelli (eye spots) of this species. E. argus is found in China, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. E. argus is found in a wide variety of habitats, including desert, rocky areas, grassland, shrubland, forest, and freshwater wetlands. Similarly, the species has been found at a wide range of altitudes, 50–3,400 m (160–11,150 ft).

E. argus is oviparous. Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Eremias argus argus W. Peters, 1869 Eremias argus barbouri Schmidt, 1925 Peters W (1869). "Eine Mittheilung über neue Gattungen und Arten von Eidechsen ". Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1869: 57–66 + one unnumbered plate. (Eremias argus, new species... Wikipedia →