''Podarcis cretensis'', the Cretan wall 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
lacertid
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 i ...
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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
(including its satellite islands).
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 ...
of ''Podarcis erhardii
''Podarcis'' is a genus of lizards, known colloquially as wall lizards, in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus ''Lacerta (genus), Lacerta'', to which they were considered to belong until ...
''.[ Genetic analysis, however, revealed that it is a separate species closely related to '']Podarcis peloponnesiacus
The Peloponnese wall lizard (''Podarcis peloponnesiacus'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is endemic to the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, a ...
''.
References
cretensis
Reptiles described in 1952
Lizards of Europe
Endemic fauna of Crete
Taxa named by Otto von Wettstein
{{lacertidae-stub