Sand Lizard

The sand lizard is a sturdy lacertid with a relatively deep body, short head and long tail. Both sexes carry rows of pale, dark-edged spots, but breeding males develop vivid green flanks and head sides while females remain brown or grey. A pale line or broken marks often run along the back. Its robust build and the male's spring green colour distinguish it from the slimmer, more linear-patterned racerunners. (Wikipedia, sand lizard account)

Sand lizards favour sunny grassland, heath, dunes, banks and open woodland edges where loose soil permits egg laying. They bask by day and hunt insects, spiders and other invertebrates, retreating into burrows or dense cover when alarmed. Females bury eggs in warm ground, and animals hibernate through winter in cold parts of the range. The opened account did not detail Mongolia or support a national viewing site, so these are general species traits only. (Wikipedia, sand lizard account)