Balkan Wall Lizard

About the Balkan Wall Lizard

Podarcis tauricus, the Balkan wall lizard, is a common lizard in the family Lacertidae native to southeastern 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.

The Balkan wall lizard grows to a snout-to-vent length of about 8 cm (3.1 in) with a tail twice as long as this. It is a sturdy deep-headed lizard somewhat resembling a small green lizard. The basic colour is bright green in spring, fading to an olive-green olive-brown in summer. The markings are somewhat variable but may consist of two narrow, pale-coloured dorso-lateral stripes with the central part of the back brownish with black patches. The underparts are white and unblotched, but breeding males develop yellow, orange or red underparts and green throats.

South-west Ukraine, Crimea Peninsula, eastern and southern Romania, south-east Hungary, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, mainland Greece, the Ionian Islands, Thassos, western Turkey (Thrace and north western Anatolia), Albania and southern Moldova. south-eastern Czech Republic

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