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Tuesday, 31 July 2018

31-7-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - IBERIAN WALL LIZARD (Podarcis hispanicus)


Podarcis hispanicus, also known as Iberian wall lizard, is a small wall lizard species of the genus Podarcis. It is found in the Iberian Peninsula, in northwestern Africa and in coastal districts in Languedoc-Roussillon in France. In Spanish, this lizard is commonly called lagartija Ibérica.

The Iberian wall lizard is very agile and can move rapidly across a rock face. Males are somewhat territorial. Females lay clutches of one to five oval eggs which hatch in about eight weeks. At birth, the juveniles have a snout-to-vent length of 2 to 2.5 cm (0.8 to 1.0 in). The lifespan of this lizard is about four years.

Podarcis hispanicus adults have a brown or grey-brown skin with darker spots or patterns on their back and side flanks. These lizards can have a range in size due to their varying tail sizes. It is a fairly small, slender, and somewhat flattened species with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) averaging 50–70 mm (2.0–2.8 in) and a tail twice as long as its body.

Podarcis hispanicus have limited color diversity compared to other species. These lizards can also have stripes or reticulations. Striped lizards are darker and have more black coloration than their reticulated counterparts. The background color is usually grey or brown but is occasionally greenish. Most individuals have three narrow longitudinal stripes, one along the spine and the other two more distinct, located on either side. Sometimes these are broken up into a series of streaks or marks. The throat is pale with a scattering of small spots, particularly near the sides, and the belly is usually whitish but may be pink, orange, red or buff. Young lizards may have blue tails.