The Reptiles & Amphibians of Morocco

Driving south from our arrival point in Agadir to the lively coastal town of Sidi Ifni, we stopped at the scenic Oued Massa Nature Reserve to lay our eyes upon our first reptiles in the form of Golden Fringe-toed Lizards (Acanthodactylus aureus). These lizards were supercharged as we approached midday and were showing great bursts of speed. We also spotted avian delights along the way such as Moussier’s Redstart, Stone Curlew, Crested Lark, Great Grey Shrike, Black-winged Stilts and more.

Our 2-night stay in Sidi Ifni was productive while exploring the beautiful Macaronesian coastal habitats, rich in Euphorbias and other fascinating flora. We had an incredible introduction to our first snake, an impressive tropical African relict species – the Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) waiting in ambush for prey at the roadside in the northern extremes of its vast range across Africa. We also found what would be the first of multiple Bibron’s Agamas (Agama bibronii), Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica), Helmethead Gecko (Tarentola chazaliae) and Harris Geckos (Saurodactylus harrisii). The beautiful Spanish Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa) was abundant in the remaining water bodies, sporadically revealing its piercing blue eyes above the water, as were amphibians unique to north Africa, such as the vocal Sahara Water Frog (Pelophylax saharicus) and intricately-patterned Berber Toad (Sclerophrys mauritanica). Exploring this coastline treated us to an excellent array of ‘by-catch’. We had fantastic views of Lesser Egyptian Jerboa, Jirds, Fat Sand Rat and Barbary Ground Squirrel, as well as birds such as Hoopoe, Lanner Falcon, Montagu’s Harrier, Little Owl, Red-rumped Wheatear, White-crowned Wheatear and even a brief glimpse of a Pharaoh Eagle Owl on the road at night. On foot, we encountered a freshly moulted scorpion (Buthus sp.) next to its discarded exoskeleton and watched another hunt a moth while it glowed under UV black light.

It was now time for our next destination – the bubbling coastal town of Tan-Tan. From here, we could explore surrounding flat deserts and semi-deserts with the return of impressive Euphorbias, which many of our targets seek refuge in. We were overjoyed to find a charming Mediterranean Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) on the move – a first wild chameleon for many of the group! This was closely followed by a male Busack’s Fringed-toed Lizard (Acanthodactylus busacki), boasting beautiful colours and reticulations. This is a species seemingly confined to the south-west of Morocco, with limited unconfirmed records from the east and deep south. The Many-scaled Skink (Chalcides polylepis) was another great find in this area – a species that can be quick to flee, but it happily basked in the morning sun for us to observe. Amphibians were scarce in this area, but we did manage to find our first African Green Toad (Bufotes boulengeri) of the trip. A bonus mammal was the charismatic North African Elephant Shrew darting between the bushes and eventually allowing us good views, as well as a highly cryptic Arthropod in the form of Eremiaphila – a mantis that is uniquely adapted to survive in deserts. Furthermore, we struck botanical gold in finding Hannonia hesperidum, which is endemic to south-western Morocco and the only member of the Hannonia genus. 

Our final location before returning north to Mirleft was Khenifiss National Park where there were plenty of reptilian tracks in the sand dunes accompanied by plentiful birdlife, including hundreds of Greater Flamingoes against the dramatic backdrop of towering dunes in the fading sun. A healthy population of Beautiful Scorpions (Buthus bonito) also resides in the park, of which we found many in varying sizes under rocks. Our last day in Mirleft included a luxury stay in the stunning Kasbah Tabelkoukt hotel overlooking the Atlantic, where we could wind down and talk about our exciting finds over the trip. However, being the keen naturalists we are, we went on one last night walk, which produced lots of Harris Geckos (Saurodactylus harrisii) varying in size and colour, some climbing the vegetation in search of their minisucle insect prey. These tiny lizards are well within the prey range of large Cerbalus huntsman spiders, which we had seen in all locations, but seemed particularly active on this evening.