''Darevskia valentini'', also known
commonly as the Caucasian rock lizard or Valentin's lizard, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
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 about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found ...
. The species is native to southeastern
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and western
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. There are three recognized
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''valentini'', is in honor of naturalist
Jean Valentin (1868–1898), who was associated with the ''
Senckenberg Naturmuseum''.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* Gray ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Darevskia valentini'', p. 271).
Geographic range
''D. valentini'' is found in
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...
s of ''D. valentini'' are rocky areas,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
, and
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
, at altitudes of .
[
]
Reproduction
''D. valentini'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.[
]
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
.[
*'' Darevskia valentini lantzicyreni''
*'' Darevskia valentini spitzenbergerae''
*''Darevskia valentini valentini''
'']Nota bene
( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''.
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
other than ''Darevskia''.
References
Further reading
* Arnold EN, Arribas O, Carranza S (2007). "Systematics of the Palaearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with Descriptions of eight new genera". ''Zootaxa'' 1430: 1–86. (''Darevskia valentini'', p. 41).
* Boettger O (1892). "''Kriechthiere der Kaukasusländer, gesammelt durch die Radde-Valentin'sche Expedition nach dem Karabagh und durch die Herren Dr. J. Valentin und P. Reibisch'' ". ''Bericht über die Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main'' 1892: 131–150. (''Lacerta muralis'' var. ''valentini'', new variety, pp. 145–146). (in German and Latin).
* Darevsky IS, Eiselt J (1967). "''Ein neuer Name für ''Lacerta saxicola mehelyi'' Lantz & Cyrén 1936'' ". ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien'' 70: 107. ("''Lacerta saxicola lantzicyreni nom. nov.''", replacement name). (in German).
*Eiselt J, Darevsky IS, Schmidtler JF (1992). "''Untersuchungen an Felseidechsen ''(Lacerta saxicola'' - Komplex; Reptilia: Lacertidae) in der östlichen Turkei. 1. ''Lacerta valentini'' Boettger'' ". ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, Serie B'' 93: 1–18. (''Lacerta valentini spitzbergerae'', new subspecies, p. 13). (in German).
* Petrosyan VG, Osipov FA, Bobrov VV, Dergunova NN, Danielyan FD, Arakelyan MS (2019). "New records of ''Darevskia armeniaca'' ( Méhely, 1909) and ''Darevskia valentini'' (Boettger, 1892) (Squamata, Sauria, Lacertidae) from Armenia and updated geographic distribution maps". ''Check List'' 15 (1): 21–31.
Darevskia
Reptiles described in 1892
Taxa named by Oskar Boettger
{{Lacertidae-stub