Telescopus dhara (Forskål, 1775).

Length up to 900 mm. The head is ovoid, flat, and distinct from the neck; the snout is rounded and moderately broad; the eye is large with vertical, elliptical (cat-like) pupil. The body is slender and cylindrical. The color is pale buff sometimes with a series of brown blotches on the back. The Egyptian Cat Snake inhabits old buildings, gardens, village houses, the edges of cultivated land, and arid rocky wadis. This is the snake that is most frequently encountered in dwellings in Egypt. It is nocturnal and feeds on lizards, birds, small rodents, and bats; it is a very good climber. This rear-fanged snake may be aggressive when handled and is mildly venomous in some cases, but it is not dangerous. The female lays 6-20 eggs. In Egypt, it is found in the Nile Valley and Delta, Wadi el Natrun, Sinai, the Eastern Desert, and Gebel Elba. Its range is from North Africa east to the Arabian Peninsula. It is widespread and fairly common.

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Spalerosophis diadema (Schlegel, 1837).

Length up to 1540 mm. A large handsome snake with an elongated and a slightly triangular head, a rounded snout, and eyes that are rather large with round pupils. The body is cylindrical and long; its build is moderate to rather slender; the long tail is approximately one-fifth of its total length. The color is pinkish-grey with regular brown blotches. The Diademed Snake lives in a wide variety of habitats ranging from oases and human settlements to arid rocky wadis and the margins of cultivation. It is nocturnal and feeds on lizards, birds, and small mammals, particularly rats and mice, which consume agricultural products and grain. Thus, this harmless, non-poisonous snake is very beneficial to man. Two clutches of eggs are laid, each with 3-16 eggs; the incubation takes 59-61 days. This snake is found in Egypt; in the Western and Eastern Deserts, the Nile Valley and Delta, and Sinai. Its world distribution covers North Africa, the Middle East, and Iran. Throughout its range, it is fairly common and widespread.

Varanus griseus (Daudin, 1803).

Length up to 460 mm. A large lizard with an elongated body, long neck, and long whip-like tail; the limbs are sturdy. The color is greyish-yellow with irregular, more or less distinct, narrow, brown transverse bars on the back and more regular bars on the tail. Monitors are the only lizards with forked, snake-like tongues. The Desert Monitor inhabits sandy areas, gravel plains, firm areas between sand dunes, and rock outcrops. It excavates burrows that may extend up to 2 m below the ground. It is diurnal and predatory, and it feeds on scorpions, grasshoppers, frogs, lizards, snakes, small birds, and rodents. The female lays 5-20 eggs; the incubation lasts for up to 10 months. In Egypt, it is found in the Western and Eastern Deserts and Sinai. Globally, it extends over much of North Africa and Southwestern Asia. This large lizard is fairly common and widespread throughout its range.

Trapelus mutabilis (Merrem, 1820).

Length up to 90 mm. A medium-sized agama with a short head, depressed body, and irregular dorsal scalation. It is basically grey-brown in color with several darker bands, but the color can be variable; the male has a blue throat and violet flanks during the breeding season. The Desert Agama inhabits open, vegetated gravel desert; it is diurnal; feeds on insects and small lizards and climbs on small shrubs in the heat of the day. The female lays 5-12 eggs. This lizard is found, in Egypt, in the Western Desert particularly along the Western Mediterranean Coastal Desert, southward to the oases and vegetated areas, in and around the Qattara Depression. Its global range is from Morocco to Egypt, west of the Nile.

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Scincus scincus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length up to 119 mm. A torpedo-shaped skink with perfectly smooth scales; the head is flattened with a short snout. The digits are much depressed with broad lateral scale fringes to facilitate motion in and on soft sand. The underside is concave to enable it to breath under the sand; the tail is short and laterally compressed. The color is yellowish with several brown transverse bands; juveniles are uniformly salmon-colored above, silvery-white below. The Common Skink is restricted to sandy areas, with or without vegetation, where it spends much of its time under the surface. It feeds on insects and other lizards, but also eats flowers or grain. The ‘sand swimming’ for which it is known can be used as a mechanism to escape from predators. The female lays a single clutch of six soft-shelled eggs. In Egypt, it is found in sandy areas of North Sinai, the Western Desert, and the northern parts of the Eastern Desert. Elsewhere, it is found in North Africa and the Middle East. It is common and widespread throughout its range.

Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length up to 130 mm. Certainly among the most distinctive and unusual reptiles. The head and body are laterally compressed; on the head is a casque (helmet) with longitudinal ridges. The eyes are large, cone-shaped and function independently; the toes are partially fused with two digits opposed to the other three on each limb; the tail can be rolled up and is prehensile (able to grasp). The basic color is variable; greenish or grey, but can be changed in response to a series of factors such as light, body temperature, state of health, and social interaction. However, the ability of a chameleon to change its color is greatly exaggerated. The Common Chameleon inhabits vegetated desert areas with bushes or trees in which its specialized feet and tail enable it to climb. It is entirely diurnal and feeds on mobile insects such as grasshoppers, butterflies, and flies, which it catches by shooting out its long sticky tongue faster than the eye can see; the tongue is then returned to its coiled position in the mouth. The female lays 5-10 eggs and the incubation lasts for 220 days. In Egypt, it is found in the Western Mediterranean Coastal Desert, the northern part of the Eastern Desert, and Sinai. Its global range covers North Africa and the Mediterranean region. It is common and widespread, although it is collected vigorously for the pet trade.

Acanthodactylus boskianus (Daudin, 1802).

Length up to 80 mm. A typical lizard with well-developed limbs that is distinguished from other species of the genus by its enlarged and keeled, dorsal scales. The color is sandy grey with longitudinal dark stripes; the tail of the juvenile is blue. Bosc’s Lizard favors gravelly or stony areas with sparse vegetation; preferably not sand. It is equally common in some of the most extreme desert areas and in the desert margins of the cultivated Nile Valley and Delta. It is a diurnal lizard that feeds on a variety of arthropods including grasshoppers, butterflies, and spiders. The 2-7 eggs are laid and the incubation takes around 89-100 days. In Egypt, it is found in the Western and Eastern Deserts, the Nile Valley, and Sinai. Its world range is throughout North Africa and Southwestern Asia; it is common and widespread.

Chalcides sepsoides (Audouin, 1829).

Length up to 116 mm. The body is narrow and elongated with very reduced limbs, each with five toes, although sometimes some toes are missing; the snout is flattened and shovel-like. The dorsal scales are very smooth; the color is sandy above, white below with a dark stripe through the eye; it is well adapted to digging, locomotion, and respiration under the sand. Audouin’s Sand Skink is found in sandy habitats ranging from sand dunes to sandy spots in rocky wadis. It ‘swims’ immediately below the surface of the sand leaving a characteristic raised, winding track. Mostly nocturnal in the summer; it becomes increasingly diurnal in the winter feeding on insects and other invertebrates including subterranean species. In Egypt, it is found in the Western Desert, the northern part of the Eastern Desert, and Sinai. Its global range is restricted to North Africa and Western Asia. It is common and widespread.