Italian wall lizard

Italian wall lizard
An Italian wall lizard near the river Entella, in Italy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Podarcis
Species:
P. siculus
Binomial name
Podarcis siculus
(Rafinesque, 1810)
Synonyms
  • Lacerta sicula Rafinesque, 1810

The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (Podarcis siculus, from the Greek meaning agile and feet) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. P. siculus is native to south and southeastern Europe, but has also been introduced elsewhere in the continent, as well as North America, where it is a possible invasive species. P. siculus is a habitat generalist and can thrive in natural and human-modified environments. Similarly, P. siculus has a generalized diet as well, allowing it to have its large range.[1][2]

P. siculus is notable for having many subspecies within its large range.[3] Studies evidence how rapidly P. siculus subspecies can become distinguishable from larger populations given geographic isolation. A 2008 study[4] detailed distinct morphological and behavioral changes in a P. siculus population indicative of "rapid evolution".[5][6][7]

P. siculus is a sexually dimorphic lizard species whose physical description varies across its subspecies, but it generally has a green or brown back and white or green belly.[8] It is also oviparous, meaning females lay their young in eggs, and they lay 3 or 4 clutches per year.[9]

  1. ^ a b Crnobrnja-Isailovic J, Vogrin M, Corti C, Pérez Mellado V, Sá-Sousa P, Cheylan M, Pleguezuelos J, Sindaco R, Romano A, Avci A (2009). "Podarcis siculus (errata version published in 2016)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T61553A86151752. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61553A12515189.en. Downloaded on 31 October 2021
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "TYPICAL LIZARDS (Lacertidae): Podarcis sicula ssp". Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  4. ^ Herrel A, Huyghe K, Vanhooydonck B, et al. (March 2008). "Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with exploitation of a different dietary resource". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 105 (12): 4792–5. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.4792H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711998105. PMC 2290806. PMID 18344323.
  5. ^ "National Geographic: Lizards Rapidly Evolve After Introduction to Island". 2008-04-21. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  6. ^ "Science Daily: Lizards Undergo Rapid Evolution After Introduction To A New Home". Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  7. ^ "Newswise: Lizards Undergo Rapid Evolution After Introduction to New Island". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).