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i have seen alot of these pop up on my instock lists lately, are they a seperate species or just a color morph of the malis? i guess i can ask the same question about "chad uros" i see from time to time. i can't find any information on either of them. thanks for any help

Uromastyx dispar Malienisis which is the Uromastyx from Chad rather than Mali and is a subspecies of it usually with more yellow/gold in it than black.

another fancy name for well known Uros

There are three subspecies of Uromastyx dispar. Golden Uros or Chad Uros are what many dealers are calling the nominate subspecies of Uromastyx dispar (Uromastyx dispar dispar.) Malis ( Uromastyx dispar maliensis)are no longer exported from Mali so it seems this subspecies is now being brought in to replace the demand for Malis. Both are similar in appearance but if you have both subspecies in hand you will see slight differences. The third subspecies by the way is the Banded Uro Uromastyx dispar flavifasciata.

Nice explanation of the subspecies!!

Thanks. I have all three subspecies in my collection. When I get a chance I'll post photos of all three, if you'd like to see what they actually look like compared to each other.

Have any idea about intergrade in the wild or has anyone crossbread in captivity?

Makes you wonder!! Thats the problem (IMHO)buying WC stock from dealers. They sell their animals as what they bought them as. If a dealer buys "golden" uros, he or she sells to you "golden" uros. I suspect most animals from the same shipment are "pure" with respect to each other. But with funky export laws, etc., they may not have been actually exported from the country of origin captured from, or labled as anything that could indicate they came from a certain country of origin. The "goldens" (dispar dispar)could be malis (dispar mali) captured from a country that bans uro export. Still, business must go on, so the animals are captured in Mali (ie, they are dispar mali), smuggled to a "friendly" country, and sold as "goldens" (indicating they are dispar dispar). I think buying captive bred from reputable breeders who know their taxonomy will help you ensure you are getting what you paid for (actual dispar mali or dispar dispar). Also, most geographically separated subspecies are so similar that they get lumped together after awhile and no longer recognized as being subspecies. Just geographical color variations with no evidence they are actually separate subspecies. Could this be the fate of dispar subspecies?

I would hazard a guess and say that cross breeding between the two subspecies has occurred in captivity as they are both similar in appearance. In fact cross breeding between U.d. maliensis and U.d. flavifasciata (a subspecies that is easily distinguished from either of the other two subspecies)has definitely occurred in captive animals.

KevinM, I think the opposite is actually happening. Because true Mali Uros are no longer legally exported, I believe some dealers are selling U. dispar dispar as Malis, as most people would never know the difference. But you are right about some protected species being exported to countries with no regulations and then re-exported to the U.S.

I wouldn't be surprised if in the future U. dispar dispar and U. dispar maliensis were shown to be the same. However, although it is true that in the past some subspecies (and even full species) have been lumped together, the opposite is equally true. That is, some geographic populations have proven to warrant subspecies or full species status. It really depends on a number of factors scientist look at. And as science advances more tools are brought in to help in clarifying the relationships between different populations of a species.Today DNA is used to show how far populations have diverged from each other. Most species were already named before we even knew what DNA was.

Male Uromastyx dispar dispar (fresh import)

Male Uromastyx dispar maliensis

Male Uromastyx dispar flavifasciata

Very nice pics Mahlerfan!! Thanks for sharing information on the differences of the subspecies. To be honest, if someone was selling a uro that looked like the male dispar dispar you posted as a "mali", I would buy it as a mali. I have what I suspect is a female mali. It is a ch05 about 10 inches long still showing juvie/adult coloration. I am a snake guy, but love this gal. I am possibly looking into breeding malis in the future and will really use this information and scrutinize potential buys I see in the future!!!

I was at the coluymbia SC show Saturday and there were many golden uros in horrible shape.I was told that they cannnot come in legally anymore so they are first shipped through europe. anybody have any details on that?

There seems to be a confusion between the Mali and Golden Uros. It is the Mali Uro - Uromastyx dispar maliensis that is no longer legally exported from Mali, their natural range. Golden Uros - Uromastyx dispar dispar, which resemble Malis are not illegal (as far as I know) to export from Chad. It seems that the Golden Uro is being used as a replacement for Malis. Although there are differences between the two subspecies, they in fact look very similar.

We are the exact distributors for the Golden Uro, aka Uromastyx dispar dispar. We imported every single one.
They are captured in CHAD, exported to Niger, and re-exported from Niger via EUROPE (only connecting flights) into the U.S.
They are 100% perfectly legal, captured in CHAD on the west side. The next batch will be captured in the north east side to see if difference in colors, etc.
All CITES documents show capture in CHAD, export to Niger, and re-export to USA.
Mali uromastyx are not as colorful, and not as mean!
They are also banned from ALL trade. No exports to other countries, period.