The species is endemic to northern Africa and western Asia.

The specific name, hasselquistii, is in honor of Swedish naturalist Fredrik Hasselquist.

[3] P. hasselquistii grows to a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 96 mm (3.8 in).

[4] P. hasselquistii is found in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, eastern Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia (including the Farasan Islands), northern Somalia, Sudan, and Syria.

[2] The type locality is Cairo, Egypt.