Subspecies:

Acanthodactylus scutellatus audouini  BOULENGER, 1918

Synonyms:

Acanthodactylus scutellatus var. audouini   BOULENGER, 1918

Types:

Lectotype: BMNH 1920.1.20.3006 designated by CROCHET et al. 2003. Paralectotypes: BMNH 97.10.28.315-319 (Wadi Halfa, Sudan), BMNH 1913.12.30.6-10 (Homs, Tripoli), BMNH 91.5.4.85-91 (Duirat, southern Tunisia), BMNH 1920.1.20.3006 (Wed El Kreil, Tunisia); see also SALVADOR 1982

Terra Typica:

Restricta (CROCHET, GENIEZ & INEICH 2003) Oued el Kreil, S Tunisia.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Boulenger, G.A. (1918) -  Description of Acathodactylus scutellatus audouini. -  In: “Sur les lézards du genre Acanthodactylus Wieg.” - Bulletin de la Société zoologique de France, 43: 143-155.   

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• Tamar, K. & Carranza, S. & Sindaco, R. & Moravec, J. & Trape, J.-F. & Meiri, S. (2016) -  Out of Africa: Phylogeny and biogeography of the widespread genus Acanthodactylus (Reptilia: Lacertidae).  -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 103: 6-18.    

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  Acanthodactylus lizards are among the most diverse and widespread diurnal reptiles in the arid regions spanning from North Africa across to western India. Acanthodactylus constitutes the most species-rich genus in the family Lacertidae, with over 40 recognized species inhabiting a wide variety of dry habitats. The genus has seldom undergone taxonomic revisions, and although there are a number of described species and species-groups, their boundaries as well as their interspecific relationships are largely unresolved. We constructed a multilocus phylogeny, combining data from two mitochondrial (12S, cytb) and three nuclear (MC1R, ACM4, c-mos) markers for 302 individuals belonging to 36 known species, providing the first large-scale time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the genus. We evaluated phylogenetic relationships between and within species-groups, and assessed Acanthodactylus biogeography across its known range. Acanthodactylus cladogenesis is estimated to have originated in Africa due to vicariance and dispersal events from the Oligocene onwards. Radiation started with the separation into three clades: the Western and scutellatus clades largely distributed in North Africa, and the Eastern clade occurring mostly from Arabia to south-west Asia. Most Acanthodactylus species diverged during the Miocene, possibly as a result of regional geological instability and climatic changes. We support most of the current taxonomic classifications and phylogenetic relationships, and provide genetic validity for most species. We reveal a new distinct blanfordii species-group, suggest new phylogenetic positions (A. hardyi, A. masirae), and synonymize several species and subspecies (A. lineomaculatus, A. boskianus khattensis and A. b. nigeriensis) with their phylogenetically closely-related species. We recommend a thorough systematic revision of taxa exhibiting high levels of intraspecific variability as well as clear evidence of phylogenetic complexity such as A. guineensis, A. grandis, A. dumerilii, and A. senegalensis and the pardalis and erythrurus species-groups.