Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, N Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, the whole Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, north to Syria and Iraq and eastward to southwest Iran. 

Subspecies:

Acanthodactylus boskianus asper  (AUDOUIN, 1829)

Synonyms:

Acanthodactylus schreiberi syriacus  BOULENGER, 1879

Types:

Holotype: BMNH 1946.9.3.77 (unclear fide CAMPELL, March 2019)

Terra Typica:

Egypt.


Relevant taxonomic literature:

  • Audouin, J.V. (1829) -  Description of Acanthodactylus boskianus asper. -  In: “Explication sommaire des planches de reptiles (supplément) ... offrant un exposé des caractères naturels des genres, avec la distinction des espèces. .” In: Savigny, M. J. C. L.de., Description d’Égypte, Vol. l. Historie Naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie impériale/Imprimerie royale.  

  • Gilad, A. & Klass, K. & Werner, Y.L. (2012) -  New methods and old pictures illuminate the status of the lacertid lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus asper (AUDOUIN, 1827). -  North-Western Journal of Zoology, Oradea, Romania, 8: 154-163.    

  • Tamar, K. & Carranza, S. & Sindaco, R. & Moravec, J. & Meiri, S: (2014) -  Systematics and phylogeography of Acanthodactylus schreiberi and its relationships with Acanthodactylus boskianus (Reptilia: Squamata: Lacertidae). -  Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 172 (3): 720-739.    

  • 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.