| Ocellated lizard | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Lacertidae |
| Genus: | Timon |
| Species: | T. lepidus |
| Binomial name | |
| Timon lepidus (Daudin, 1802) | |
| Subspecies | |
T. l. ibericus (López-Seoane, 1884) Contents | |
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| Synonyms [2] | |
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The ocellated lizard or jewelled lizard (Timon lepidus) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae (wall lizards). The species is endemic to southwestern Europe.
Additional common names for T. lepidus include eyed lizard, and jeweled lacerta (in the pet trade),
Timon lepidus is one of the largest members of its family. The adult is 30 to 60 cm (0.98 to 1.97 ft) in total length (including tail) and may reach up to 90 cm (3.0 ft), weighing more than 0.5 kg (1.1 lb). [3] About two-thirds of its length is tail. Newly hatched young are 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 in) long, excluding tail.
This is a robust lizard with a serrated collar. The male has a characteristic broad head. It has thick, strong legs, with long, curved claws. The dorsal background colour is usually green, but sometimes grey or brownish, especially on the head and tail. This is overlaid with black stippling that may form a bold pattern of interconnected rosettes. The underside is yellowish or greenish with both the male and female sporting bright blue spots along the flanks, though the male is typically brighter in colour than the female. Young are green, grey, or brown, with yellowish or white, often black-edged, spots all over.
Timon lepidus is native to southwestern Europe. It is found throughout the Iberian peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar), and is patchily distributed in southern France and extreme northwestern Italy. The range for each subspecies is:
Timon lepidus is found in various wild and cultivated habitats from sea level up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in southern Spain. It is rare at higher altitudes. It prefers dry, bushy areas, such as open woodland and scrub, old olive groves and vineyards, and is sometimes found on more open, rocky or sandy areas. It can occasionally be seen basking on roadsides. The lizard usually stays on the ground, but climbs well on rocks and in trees. It can dig holes and sometimes uses abandoned rabbit burrows.
Timon lepidus feeds mainly on large insects, especially beetles, and snails, [4] and also robs birds’ nests and occasionally takes reptiles, frogs, and small mammals. It also eats fruit and other plant matter, especially in dry areas.
Breeding in T. lepidus occurs in late spring or early summer. Males are territorial in spring and fight in the breeding season. The female lays up to 22 eggs in June and July about three months after mating, hiding them under stones and logs or in leaf litter or in loose damp soil. It tends to lay fewer, larger eggs in dry areas. The eggs hatch in eight to 14 weeks. The lizard is sexually mature at two years of age.
Timon lepidus was listed as near threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [1] As of 2011 [update] the species has been under protection in Spain; capture and trade is forbidden. [5]
The ocellated lizard was part of the traditional cuisine of Extremadura, Spain. [6] In this region, the lizard was usually prepared in guisado, made by frying slices of lizard in olive oil, after which they were stewed over a slow fire. [7] [8] [9]
Agama is the name of a genus of small-to-moderate-sized, long-tailed, insectivorous Old World lizards, and also is one of their common names. The genus Agama includes at least 37 species in Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, where most regions are home to at least one species. Eurasian agamids are largely assigned to genus Laudakia. The various species differ in size, ranging from about 12 to 30 centimetres in length, when fully grown.
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The group includes the genus Lacerta, which contains some of the most commonly seen lizard species in Europe. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera.
Lacerta is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae.
Takydromus is a genus of lizards, commonly called grass lizards or oriental racers. Species of the genus Takydromus are endemic to a large part of Asia. Members of this genus are noticeable because of their slender appearance and their agile movements. The word takydromus derives from Greek ταχυδρόμος (takhudromos), "fast-running", from ταχύς (takhus), "swift" + δρόμος (dromos), "course, race".
Timon is a genus of wall lizards in the family Lacertidae.
François Marie Daudin was a French zoologist.
The viviparous lizard, or common lizard,, is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and most populations are viviparous, rather than laying eggs as most other lizards do. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Zootoca. Both "Zootoca" and "vivipara" mean "live birth," in Greek and Latin respectively. It was called Lacerta vivipara until the genus Lacerta was split into nine genera in 2007 by Arnold, Arribas & Carranza.
Takydromus sexlineatus, the Asian grass lizard, six-striped long-tailed grass lizard, or long-tailed grass lizard, is an arboreal, diurnal species of lizard. The tail length is usually over three times the body length in this species.
Timon pater is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae, the wall lizards. The species is endemic to Northwest Africa.
Timon princeps, commonly called the Siirt lizard or the Zagrosian lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Western Asia.
The blue-throated keeled lizard, or Dalmatian algyroides, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae.
The Iberian emerald lizard, also known commonly as Schreiber's green lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
Timon tangitanus, commonly known as the Moroccan eyed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Northwest Africa.
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.
Pedioplanis lineoocellata, known commonly as the common sand lizard, the ocellated sand lizard, and the spotted sand lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa. There are three recognized subspecies.
Pedioplanis undata, known commonly as the plain sand lizard or the western sand lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa.
Kentropyx striata, known commonly as the striped whiptail, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to northern South America.
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