This is a flat lizard with a wide body and a large spiny tail!
The Mali Spiny-tailed Lizard is small; it can measure from 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in). It is covered with scales and has an irregular body shape. The tail is wide and spiny and the toes have long claws. It can weigh between 200 and 250 g (6.43 to 8.04 on). Mostly brown, it can have a wide variety of colors. If it looses its tail it will not regenerate. It has a color vision and can smell with its tongue. It digs burrows up to 1,80 m or six feet deep in the sand or on steep rocky mountain slopes. This lizard is found in several African countries such as Mali, Algeria, Mauritania and Chad. This is a diurnal, terrestrial and territorial animal, and it is mostly sedentary. It is very active and digs continuously! This herbivorous lizard mainly feeds on plants, buds, and flowers. When threatened it will hide and block the entrance of the burrow with its strong spiny tail. If chased by a predator, it will whip its tail from left to right. Generally, a few vigorous whips are sufficient to repulse predators. These include small felines or canines and some birds. A female will usually lay between 8 and 20 eggs that she will protect by chasing all the intruders, including the males of her own species. An individual can live 10 to 15 years. Today, people keep it as a pet. The Mali Spiny-tailed Lizard is listed as Vulnerable on Appendix II of the CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Its main threat is that it is being caught for food, for the pet trade market as well as the loss of its habitat.
Mali Spiny-tailed Lizard Uromastyx maliensis 
