Gran Canaria giant lizard

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Gran Canaria giant lizard
Gallotia stehlini -Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain-8.jpg
On Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Gallotia
Species:
G. stehlini
Binomial name
Gallotia stehlini
(Schenkel, 1901)
Synonyms [2]
  • Lacerta galloti var. stehlini
    Schenkel, 1901
  • Lacerta stehlini
    Boulenger, 1920
  • Lacerta simonyi stehlini
    Mertens, 1928
  • Lacerta stehlini
    Kramer, 1979
  • Gallotia stehlini
    Hernández et al., 2000
Gran Canaria giant lizard GallotiaStehlini.jpg
Gran Canaria giant lizard

The Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is found in the Canary Islands.

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, stehlini, is in honor of Swiss paleontologist Hans Georg Stehlin, who collected the holotype. [3]

Description

G. stehlini grows to a total length (including tail) of up to 80 cm (31 in). It is among the largest reptiles within the family Lacertidae. The species comes in a variety of grays, browns, and reddish hues. Unlike their female counterparts, males exhibit sizable jowls, robust heads and overall greater body mass.[ citation needed ]

Diet

G. stehlini is a true omnivore. The young often consume various invertebrates, vegetation and soft fruits. As they mature, their diet largely consists of plant matter. [4] [5]

Geographic range

G. stehlini is endemic to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of Spain but it has been introduced to Fuerteventura. [1]

Habitat

The natural habitats of G. stehlini are temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, rocky shores, and pastureland, at altitudes from sea level to 1,850 m (6,070 ft). [1]

Reproduction

G. stehlini is oviparous. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gallotia</i> Genus of lizards

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Gomera giant lizard</span> Species of lizard

The La Gomera giant lizard is a lacertid species that can be found on the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Hierro giant lizard</span> Subspecies of lizard

The El Hierro giant lizard is the only extant, critically endangered subspecies of Simony's giant lizard. It is endemic to El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands, where it is an official symbol.

The La Palma giant lizard is a large wall lizard endemic to the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, currently extinct or critically endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simony's giant lizard</span> Species of lizard

Simony's giant lizard is a large species of wall lizard endemic to the island of El Hierro and nearby islet Roque Chico de Salmor in the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard</span> Extinct subspecies of lizard

The Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard is the extinct nominate subspecies of Simony's giant lizard, which was endemic to the small islet Roque Chico de Salmor northwest of El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenerife speckled lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Tenerife speckled lizard is a recently discovered lacertid endemic to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is the smallest member of the clade containing the western islands' giant species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boettger's lizard</span> Species of lizard

Boettger's lizard is a species of wall lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Canary Islands. There are two recognized subspecies.

<i>Gallotia galloti</i> Species of lizard

Gallotia galloti, also known commonly as Gallot's lizard, the Tenerife lizard, and the Western Canaries lizard, is a species of wall lizard in the genus Gallotia. The species is native to the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Palma. Unlike most larger species of its genus, G. galloti is a commonly found animal. There are four recognized subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gran Canaria skink</span> Species of lizard

The Gran Canaria skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae which is endemic to Gran Canaria. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, rocky areas, sandy shores, pastureland, and plantations. The adults measure 16 – 18 cm out of which the tail forms 50%. Their legs are tiny, slim, and have five fingers. They live solitarily and only seek a partner during the mating season. They are ovoviviparous; females give birth to 2 - 4 babies after three months of pregnancy. They are kept as pets in vivariums.

<i>Chalcides simonyi</i> Species of lizard

The Fuerteventura skink is an endangered ovoviviparous species of skink in the family Scincidae. Skinks are generally characterized by their smaller legs and less pronounced necks compared to typical lizards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Canary skink</span> Species of lizard

The West Canary skink, also known commonly as the Canaryan cylindrical skink, East Canary Islands skink, the Tenerife skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Canary gecko</span> Species of lizard

The East Canary gecko or Canary wall gecko is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. It is endemic to the eastern Canary Islands. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, rocky shores, sandy shores, intertidal marshes, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boettger's wall gecko</span> Species of lizard

Boettger's wall gecko, also commonly known as the Gran Canaria gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is native to the Canary Islands and the Savage Islands. There are three recognized subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenerife gecko</span> Species of lizard

The Tenerife gecko, also known commonly as Delalande's gecko and the Tenerife wall gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gomero wall gecko</span> Species of lizard

The Gomero wall gecko or La Gomera gecko, also known as perenquén in the Canary Islands, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. It is endemic to La Gomera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Atlantic lizard is a species of lizards in the family Lacertidae. It is endemic to the eastern Canary Islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and the smaller islands surrounding them.

<i>Gallotia goliath</i> Extinct species of lizard

Gallotia goliath is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans and is believed to have grown to at least 0.9 metres (3.0 ft) long. It was described by the German herpetologist Robert Mertens. Fossils of this lizard have been found in volcanic caves, where they often appear with those of other animals, like the Tenerife giant rat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guayadeque ravine</span>

The Guayadeque ravine, in Spanish Barranco de Guayadeque, is a ravine-type valley located on the Spanish municipalities of Ingenio and Agüimes, in the province of Las Palmas on Grand Canary island, off the coast of Morocco.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jose Antonio Mateo Miras, Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Iñigo Martínez-Solano (2009). "Gallotia stehlini". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2009: e.T61506A12494509. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61506A12494509.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Species Gallotia stehlini at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gallotia stehlini, p. 252).
  4. Molina-Borja, Miguel. (1986). Notes on the diet of Gallotia stehlini (Fam. Lacertidae) as obtained from behaviour observations. Vieraea. 16. 23-26.
  5. Carretero, Miguel & Roca, Vicente & Martín, Juan & Llorente, Gustavo & Montori, Albert & Santos, Xavier & Mateos, Judit. (2006). Diet and helminth parasites in the Gran Canaria giant lizard, Gallotia stehlini. Revista Española de Herpetología. 20. 105-117.

Further reading