Podarcis

Podarcis
Common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Sauria
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Podarcis Wagler, 1830[1][2][3]

Podarcis is a genus of lizards. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus Lacerta, to which they were considered to belong until the 1970s. While similar externally and ecologically, Podarcis form a distinct group differing from Lacerta by the construction of the skull and the hemipenis, and by the processes of the caudal vertebrae.^[4] They are commonly known as wall lizards. They are native to Europe and northern Africa, and most species are restricted to the Mediterranean region. The Italian wall lizard and the common wall lizard have been introduced to North America.

Classification

Genus Podarcis

• Columbretes Wall Lizard, Podarcis atrata
• Bocage's Wall Lizard, Podarcis bocagei
• Carbonell's Wall Lizard, Podarcis carbonelli
• Madeiran Wall Lizard, Podarcis dugesii
• Erhard's Wall Lizard, Podarcis erhardii
• Maltese Wall Lizard, Podarcis filfolensis
• Skyros Wall Lizard, Podarcis gaigeae (formerly in P. taurica)
• Iberian Wall Lizard, Podarcis hispanica
• Lilford's Wall Lizard, Podarcis lilfordi
  • Ratas Island Lizard, Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi (extinct, 1950)
• Catalonian wall lizard, Podarcis liolepis
• Dalmatian Wall Lizard, Podarcis melisellensis
• Milos Wall Lizard, Podarcis milensis
• Common or European wall lizard, Podarcis muralis
• Peloponnese Wall Lizard, Podarcis peloponnesiaca
• Ibiza Wall Lizard, Podarcis pityusensis
• Aeolian Wall Lizard, Podarcis raffonei
• Italian Wall Lizard, Podarcis sicula
  • Santo Stefano Lizard, Podarcis sicula sanctistephani (extinct, 1965)
• Balkan Wall Lizard, Podarcis tauricus
• Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard, Podarcis tiliguerta
• Andalusian Wall Lizard, Podarcis vaucheri
• Sicilian Wall Lizard, Podarcis wagleriana

The Moroccan Rock Lizard (Teira perspicillata) is also sometimes placed here.

References

1. ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de.
4. Wendler, Günter Diesener ; Josef Reichholf. Hrsg. von Gunter Steinbach. Ill. von Fritz (1996). Lurche und Kriechtiere (Neue, bearb. Sonderausg. ed.). München: Mosaik-Verl. ISBN 3-576-10697-9.

Further reading

• Wagler J. 1830. Natürliches System der AMPHIBIEN, mit vorangehender Classification der SÄUGTHIERE und VÖGEL. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Genus Podarcis, p. 155).