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 Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
of
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 al ...
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 ...
. 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 els ...
to
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 seve ...
.
[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 Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named a ...
: 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, 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 c ...
.
Conservation status
The overall population of ''P. raffonei'' is around one thousand specimens distributed on a surface not bigger than 20,000 m
2 (.008 mi
2). 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.
References
Further reading
*
Mertens R (1952) "''Neue Eidechsenrassen von den Liparischen Inseln'' ". ''Senckenbergiana'' 32 (5/6): 309-314 + Plates 1–2. (''Lacerta sicula raffonei'', new subspecies, pp. 313–314 + Plate 2, figure 3). (in German).
Podarcis
Lizards of Europe
Endemic fauna of Italy
Reptiles described in 1952
Taxa named by Robert Mertens
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{lacertidae-stub