عربيHome
Biodiversity Habitats & Flag species Wild Life Eco-tourism & protectorates Indigenous people Conservation

 

Birds
 
Mammals
 
Reptiles and amphibians
 
Flora
 
Red Sea Fishes
 
Red Sea Fishes

There are 106 species of Reptilia and Amphibia in Egypt; six are endemic and one, the Egyptian Tortoise, is endangered.

            The most numerous reptiles are the 49 species of lizards; of these the largest group is the Gekkonidae. Among the 36 snake species, nine are poisonous and a further nine are rear-fanged snakes that are also poisonous although they are less of a risk for humans due to the necessity of getting part of the victim to the back of their jaws in order to inject venom.

            The five species of sea turtles found in Egyptian waters are all globally endangered. The Green Turtle and the Hawksbill both nest on Egypt’s shores or on Egyptian islands.

            Five species of Bufonidae (toads), of which one is endemic, are joined by one tree frog and two other species of frogs. The impressive Nile Crocodile, once common along the Nile, is now found only in Lake Nasser, together with the large Nile Monitor and the Nile Soft-shelled Turtle.

First Back 12 of 24 Next Last
Audouin’s Sand Skink, Sphenops sepsoides
This slim, sand skink with very short limbs has the habit of ‘swimming’ just below the surface of the sand, leaving a characteristic raised, winding track. It lives to a large extent on fossorial (burrowing) insects that it is able to catch under the sand. It is believed to be mainly nocturnal in summer and diurnal in winter.

 
Species
English Name Latin Name
Nile Valley Toad Bufo kassasii   X X  
Green Toad Bufo viridis               X X     X    
Egyptian Gecko Tarentola annularis X X               X   X    
Qattara Gecko Tarentola mindiae                       X    
Spiny Agama Agama spinosa X X                        
Savigny’s Agama Trapelus savignii             X              
Egyptian Dabb Lizard Uromastyx aegyptia   X       X X              
Ornate Dabb Lizard Uromastyx ornata           X                
Egyptian Sand Lizard Acanthodactylus aegyptius             X         X    
Nidua Lizard Acanthodactylus scutellatus   X               X X X X  
Desert Monitor Varanus griseus X X X     X X         X X  
Audouin’s Sand Skink Sphenops sepsoides   X         X       X X    
Saharan Cliff Racer Platyceps saharicus X X       X X              
Saharan Sand Snake Psammophis aegyptius   X   X   X       X X X    
Egyptian Cobra Naja haje                 X          
Horned Viper Cerastes cerastes X X                        
Sand Viper Cerastes vipera                     X      
Burton's Carpet Viper Echis coloratus   X       X                
False Horned Viper Pseudocerastes persicus             X              
Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus                 X          
Egyptian Tortoise Testudo kleinmanni             X              
Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta         X                 X
Green Turtle Chelonia mydas         X                  
Nile Soft-shelled Turtle Trionyx triunguis                 X