The genus Gallotia are the lacertids of the Canary Islands. This genus consists of a group that has been evolving there ever since the first islands emerged from the sea over 20 million years ago. The endemic species and subspecies of this group have a number of characteristics that make them quite special within their family (Lacertidae); their only close relatives are the sandrunner lizards (Psammodromus) of the western Mediterranean region. Gallotia are characteristic for eating significant quantities of plants, and several lineages are often presented as classic examples for insular gigantism. However, a find of an even larger Gallotia species from the early Miocene of mainland Europe casts doubt on this assumption. Instead the ancestor of all modern Gallotia species of the Canary islands was probably already very large but carnivorous.
Lacerta is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae.
Nucras is a genus of African lacertid lizards, commonly called sandveld lizards.
The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it gives birth to live young. Both "Zootoca" and "vivipara" mean "live birth", in (Latinized) Greek and Latin respectively. It was called Lacerta vivipara until the genus Lacerta was split into nine genera in 2007 by Arnold, Arribas & Carranza.
Bedriaga's fringe-fingered lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Algeria.
The Greek algyroides, or Greek keeled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is endemic to Greece.
Aurelio's rock lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian peninsula.
The Atlas dwarf lizard, commonly known as Andreansky's lizard, is the only species in the genus Atlantolacerta, in the wall lizard family, Lacertidae. The species is indigenous to north-western Africa.
Femoral pores are a part of a holocrine secretory gland found on the inside of the thighs of certain lizards and amphisbaenians which releases pheromones to attract mates or mark territory. In certain species only the male has these pores and in other species, both sexes have them, with the male's being larger. Femoral pores appear as a series of pits or holes within a row of scales on the ventral portion of the animal's thigh.
Bosc's fringe-toed lizard or Bosk's [sic] fringe-fingered lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to North Africa and Western Asia. Three subspecies are sometimes recognised; A. boskianus boskianus, from Lower Egypt; A. boskianus euphraticus from Iraq; and A. boskianus asper from the rest of the range; however this division is unsatisfactory because each subspecies has much variation and the differences between them are not consistent.
Meroles squamulosa is a species of African lizard originally placed in the genus Ichnotropis, however phylogenetic evidence moves this species to the genus Meroles. The species is commonly called the common rough-scaled lizard or savanna lizard. It is largely found in southern Africa. These lizards are terrestrial and found in the range of mesic savannah. The common rough-scaled lizard is medium in size and well distributed in parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Congolacerta is a genus of equatorial African lacertids of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in western East Africa.
Acanthodactylus tristrami, commonly called the Lebanon fringe-fingered lizard and Tristram's spiny-footed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Middle East.
Iranolacerta zagrosica, also known commonly as the Zagros Mountains lacerta, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Iran.
Phoenicolacerta is a genus of wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. The genus was described in 2007.
Iranolacerta is a genus of wall lizards of the family Lacertidae.
Danford's lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to Greece and Turkey. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Edwin Nicholas Arnold was a British herpetologist and the Curator of Herpetology at the Natural History Museum, London. Arnold made seminal contributions to the herpetology of Europe and North Africa, especially on geckos and lizards of the family Lacertidae. He discovered and described 36 species and 4 subspecies of reptiles, and wrote A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe, which appeared over multiple editions. Arnold died of heart failure on 23 September 2023, at the age of 82.
Eolacertidae is an extinct family of lacertoid lizards known from the Paleocene and Eocene of Europe. They are the closest known relatives of Lacertidae.
