Balkan wall lizard (Podarcis taurica)

Podarcis tauricus, the Balkan wall lizard, is a common lizard of the gamily Lacertidae of south eastern Europe and Asia Minor.

Distribution

South-west Ukraine, CrimeaPeninsula, eastern and southern Romania, south-east Hungary, Macedonia, Bulgaria, mainland Greece, the Ionian Islands, Thassos, western Turkey (Thrace and north western Anatolia), Albania and southern Moldova.

Habitat and Ecology

Podarcis tauricus is largely a terrestrial lizard inhabiting open areas of grassland such as steppe, meadows and field edges, also in olive groves, traditional farm land, rural gardens, sand dunes with sparse vegetation and occasionally in open scrub.

Females lay two clutches, of between two and ten eggs each, in a year.

Taxonomy

Three subspecies are recognised

• Podarcis tauricus tauricus
• Podarcis tauricus ionicus
• Podarcis tauricus thasopulae

Very common lizard in the Danube Delta area..

foto: Mihai Baciu