The blue-throated keeled lizard (''Algyroides nigropunctatus''), or Dalmatian algyroides, 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 appropriat ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia altho ...

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 Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found i ...

Description

The maximum total length (including tail) is which makes it significantly larger than any of the other ''

Algyroides ''Algyroides'' is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Species The following species are recognised as being valid."''Algyroides'' " and "''Adolfus'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Algyroides fitzingeri'' – ...

'' species. ''A. nigropunctatus'' can be recognized by the keeled V-shaped scales on the flanks, tail and back. It owes its common name to the bright blue throat of the males in the mating season. Sometimes also females get a blue throat that is less bright. The remainder of the body is light brown to rusty brown, the belly is white to yellowish. It owes its specific name, ''nigropunctatus'', to the rows of black dots on the back. These dots are mostly missing in females outside the mating season.

Distribution and habitat

''A. nigropunctatus'' is found in Italy and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. 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 ''A. nigropunctatus'' are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas,

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

, pastureland,

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s, rural gardens, and

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

Behaviour and ecology

The food consists of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

s, and other small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

s. The blue-throated keeled lizard likes to climb. It is easily frightened and is not often kept in captivity due to its protected status. Only two or four eggs are laid, and it has been assumed that females can produce eggs both in early spring and early autumn. The males bite the females in the neck during mating and don't let go for quite some time, which is common for ''Algyroides'' lizards.

Description

Distribution and habitat

Behaviour and ecology

See also

References

Further reading