The Aeolian wall lizard (''Podarcis raffonei)'', also known commonly as Raffone's wall lizard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lacertidae. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''raffonei'' or ''raffoneae'', is in honor of Dr. Antonia Raffone, wife of Dr. Antonino Trischitta. Dr. Trischitta was the collector of the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Podarcis raffoneae'', p. 215).

Habitat

The natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of ''P. raffonei'' are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and rocky shores.

Geographic range

There are only four locations hosting ''P. raffonei'', all of them in the Aeolian Islands: the island of

Strombolicchio Strombolicchio () is a sea stack of volcanic origin to the northeast of the island of Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands of Italy. Its name in the Sicilian language, ''Struognulicchiu,'' means ''Little Stromboli''. Geology Geologically, Stromboli ...

, a small islet off the coast of the nearby island of Salina, another off the coast of the island of

Filicudi Filicudi () is one of seven islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago, situated northeast of the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Lipari. Geography Its total area is . There are several small vill ...

, and some areas of

Vulcano Vulcano ( scn, Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and ...

Conservation status

The overall population of ''P. raffonei'' is around one thousand specimens distributed on a surface not bigger than 20,000 m² (.008 mi²). It is believed that once this rare lizard inhabited a larger area, but the competition with the very common

Italian wall lizard 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro ...

, introduced by man, reduced its distribution to a smaller area.

Etymology

Habitat

Geographic range

Conservation status

References

Further reading