About Lytorhynchus diadema (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Adult Lytorhynchus diadema range from 30 to 51 centimeters in length. Their upper bodies are pale buff or cream, marked with a series of 13 to 18 large, transversely rhomboidal dark spots. A dark median band runs along the head and nape, and is sometimes confluent with an interocular transverse band. An oblique dark band extends from the eye to the angle of the mouth, and their lower bodies are uniformly white. This species is distributed across Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Mauritania, and Western Sahara. It can be found in sandy desert, semi-desert, sandy coastal areas, high grassland plateaus (especially those near rocky areas), and clay plateaus with rocks. While this species digs, it is not considered fossorial. In Arabia, it appears to occur in a wide range of dry habitats. Lytorhynchus diadema is oviparous, and lays clutches of three to five eggs.
