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Erhard's wall lizard | |
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Photographed on Santorini | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Lacertidae |
Genus: | Podarcis |
Species: | P. erhardii |
Binomial name | |
Podarcis erhardii (Bedriaga, 1882) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii), also commonly called the Aegean wall lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Europe.
The specific name, erhardii, is in honor of a certain Dr. D. Erhard (first name unknown), a German naturalist, who was the author of Fauna der Cycladen (1858). [3]
P. erhardii is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Aegean islands. [1] On the mainland it ranges from Albania, North Macedonia and southern Bulgaria to the northeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. In the Aegean archipelago it does not occur in Milos or the surrounding islands, where it is replaced by the Milos wall lizard.[ citation needed ]
The snout-to-vent length (SVL) of P. erhardii is about 7 cm (2.8 in), and the tail is twice as long. The head is rather wide, and the skin is smooth. The colour and patterning of this species vary a lot. The main colour is typically grey or brown, sometimes green. Females particularly are often striped. On the edges of the back two white stripes border two dark stripes or spotty lines. In the middle of the back may be a dark line. Some males have net-like patterning, where longitudinal and transverse lines and spots mix. The belly and often throat are white, yellow, orange or red, and in the Aegean Islands also green, blue or grey. The belly is never spotty, but sometimes there are blue spots on the hind legs.[ citation needed ]
Erhard's wall lizard lives in dry or rocky places with dense, low bushes. It climbs very well. The lizard populations in the Aegean archipelago inhabit open places, like plant-covered dunes, as well.[ citation needed ]
Erhard's wall lizard eats arthropods, especially insects.[ citation needed ]
P. erhardii mates in spring, and lays eggs at the beginning of the summer. The young lizards hatch in September, then measuring 3 cm (1.2 in).[ citation needed ]
P. erhardii chooses backgrounds that match its colour to enhance camouflage against avian predators in its natural habitat. [4]
Although 28 subspecies of P. erhardii have been described and considered valid, Sindaco & Jeremčenko (2008) consider only four subspecies to be valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. [2]
Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Podarcis.
Podarcis is a genus of lizards in the family Lacertidae. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus Lacerta, to which they were considered to belong until the 1970s. While similar externally and ecologically, Podarcis form a distinct group differing from Lacerta by the construction of the skull and the hemipenis, and by the processes of the caudal vertebrae. They are commonly known as wall lizards. They are native to Europe and northern Africa, and most species are restricted to the Mediterranean region. Wall lizards diversified and hybridized during the Messinian salinity crisis. The Italian wall lizard and the common wall lizard have been introduced to North America, where they have become intermediate hosts for some Acuariidae larvae.
The Milos wall lizard is a small Mediterranean lizard.
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Vipera ursinii is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. It is a very rare species, which is in danger of extinction. This species is commonly called the meadow viper. It is found in France, Italy, and Greece as well as much of eastern Europe. Several subspecies are recognized. Beyond the highly threatened European population, poorly known populations exist as far to the east as Kazakhstan and northwestern China.
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The Dalmatian wall lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and pastureland.
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Xerotyphlops vermicularis, the European blind snake, European worm snake, Eurasian blind snake, or Eurasian worm snake, is a species of snake in the genus Xerotyphlops. Despite its common name, the range of the European blind snake ranges from the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean Islands, and Cyprus to Afghanistan. The common name refers to how it is the only blindsnake of the genus Typhlops naturally found in Europe. The only other blindsnake found in Europe is the brahminy blindsnake, or "flowerpot snake," Ramphotyphlops braminus, where specimens have been discovered lurking in the soil at the Kew Gardens.
Elaphe quatuorlineata is a member of the family Colubridae. The four-lined snake is a non-venomous species and one of the largest of the European snakes.
Podarcis tauricus, the Balkan wall lizard, is a common lizard in the family Lacertidae native to south eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is a terrestrial species found in steppe, grassland, olive groves, cultivated land, meadows, rural gardens, sparsely vegetated sand dunes and scrubby areas.
Kotschy's gecko is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southeastern Europe and the Middle East. It is named in honour of the Austrian botanist and explorer Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy.
Podarcis cretensis, the Cretan wall lizard, is a species of lacertid lizard endemic to Crete.
Darevskia praticola, the meadow lizard, is a lizard species in the genus Darevskia. It is found in Georgia, Russia, Iran, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is of least concern