''Podarcis'' is 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 ...

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 ...

s, known colloquially as wall lizards, 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 ...

. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus '' Lacerta'', to which they were considered to belong until the 1970s. While similar externally and ecologically, ''Podarcis'' form a distinct group differing from ''Lacerta'' by the construction of the skull and the

hemipenis A hemipenis (: hemipenes) is one of a pair of intromittent organs of male squamates (snakes and lizards). Hemipenes are usually held inverted within the body, and are everted for reproduction via erectile tissue, much like that in the human pe ...

, and by the processes of the caudal vertebrae. Wall lizards are native to

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 northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and most species are restricted to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region. Wall lizards diversified and hybridized during the

Messinian salinity crisis In the Messinian salinity crisis (also referred to as the Messinian event, and in its latest stage as the Lago Mare event) the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partial or nearly complete desiccation (drying-up) throughout the latter part of ...

. The

Italian wall lizard The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (''Podarcis siculus'', from the Greek meaning ''foot'' and ''agile''), is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. ''P. siculus'' is native to southern and southeastern Europe, but has also been introdu ...

and the common wall lizard have been introduced to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where they have become intermediate hosts for some Acuariidae larvae.

Species and subspecies

The genus ''Podarcis'' contains the following 27 species which are recognized as being valid. A few of the many 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 ...

are also listed here. * Bocage's wall lizard, '' Podarcis bocagei'' * Carbonell's wall lizard, '' Podarcis carbonelli'' * Cretan wall lizard, '' Podarcis cretensis'' * Erhard's wall lizard, ''

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 ...

'' * Maltese wall lizard, ''

Podarcis filfolensis The filfola lizard or Maltese wall lizard (''Podarcis filfolensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Italy (in the Pelagian Islands) and in the island group of Malta. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type ...

'' * Skyros wall lizard, '' Podarcis gaigeae'' *'' Podarcis galerai'' *'' Podarcis guadarramae'' * Iberian wall lizard, ''

Podarcis hispanicus ''Podarcis hispanicus'', also known as Iberian wall lizard, is a small wall lizard species of the genus ''Podarcis''. It is found in the Iberian Peninsula, in northwestern Africa and in coastal districts in Languedoc-Roussillon in France. In Span ...

'' * Crimean wall lizard, '' Podarcis ionicus'' * Pontian wall lizard, '' Podarcis latastei'' *'' Podarcis levendis'' * Lilford's wall lizard, ''

Podarcis lilfordi Lilford's wall lizard (''Podarcis lilfordi)'' is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Gymnesian Islands, the easternmost of the Balearic Islands, Spain. There are 27 subspecies that are recognized as being ...

'' ** Ratas Island lizard, '' Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi'' ,

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

, 1950 * Catalan wall lizard, '' Podarcis liolepis'' *'' Podarcis lusitanicus'' * Dalmatian wall lizard, ''

Podarcis melisellensis The Dalmatian wall lizard (''Podarcis melisellensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, ...

'' * Milos wall lizard, '' Podarcis milensis'' * Common or European wall lizard, '' Podarcis muralis'' * Peloponnese wall lizard, '' Podarcis peloponnesiacus'' *

Ibiza wall lizard The Ibiza wall lizard (''Podarcis pityusensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is most closely associated with the island of Eivissa, or Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands, but has become naturalized in parts of Spain. A subsp ...

, '' Podarcis pityusensis'' * Aeolian wall lizard, '' Podarcis raffonei'' *

, '' Podarcis siculus'' ** Santo Stefano lizard, '' Podarcis siculus sanctistephani'' , extinct, 1965 * Balkan wall lizard, '' Podarcis tauricus'' * Tyrrhenian wall lizard, ''

Podarcis tiliguerta The Tyrrhenian wall lizard (''Podarcis tiliguerta'') is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. The species is native to the islands Corsica and Sardinia and their associated islets. There are ten recognized subspecies. ...

'' * Andalusian wall lizard, '' Podarcis vaucheri'' *'' Podarcis virescens'' *

Sicilian wall lizard The Sicilian wall lizard (''Podarcis waglerianus'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. Endemic to Italy, it occurs in Sicily and the Aegadian Islands. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean- ...

, '' Podarcis waglerianus'' ''

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 binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Podarcis''.

Species and subspecies

References

Further reading