Aurelio's mountain lizard
| Aurelio's mountain lizard | ||||||||||||
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Aurelios mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta aurelioi ) |
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| Iberolacerta aurelioi | ||||||||||||
| ( Arribas , 1994) |
Aurelio's mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta aurelioi ) is a species of lizard from the genus Iberolacerta .
features
Males reach a head-trunk length up to 65 millimeters, females up to 62 millimeters. The back is mostly brown in color, sometimes slightly olive in color. In adult males, numerous dark spots are present on the head, back, and top of the tail. This spotting is less intense in females. Usually the border between the back and the flanks is marked by a light, irregularly edged longitudinal stripe, which runs down to the tail. A dark brown to black band runs along the flanks from the temples to the front third of the tail, under which there is a light longitudinal line. The color of the throat is dirty whitish. A strong yellow or orange color is found on the belly and partly on the underside of the tail. The top of young animals is uniformly brown, sometimes weakly developed dark spots are present. The underside is initially white and turns yellow in the second year. The tail is glossy green.
Occurrence
Aurelio's mountain lizard occurs in the border area of Spain, Andorra and France in a very small area in the east of the Pyrenees . The main distribution area of the species is in the Spanish province of Lerida and Andorra. In Spain it occurs in the mountain massifs Montroig and Pica d'Estats including the Serrat de Capifonts , in north-west Andorra in Coma Pedrosa , Tristaina and Sarera . The area extends from the Montroig massif in the west to the Tristaina massif in the east.
This type of high mountain range can be found in the alpine and deforested subalpine altitudes at altitudes of 2100 to 2940 meters above sea level . It is mainly found in crevice-rich and well-weathered geological formations.
Way of life
At high altitudes, the species is active from about mid-May to the end of September, younger and half-grown specimens until the beginning of October. The mating season extends from late May to late June. From mid-June to mid-July, females lay a clutch under medium-sized stones. This consists of rarely one, usually two to three eggs. The eggs are 11 to 15 millimeters long and 6 to 8 millimeters wide. The embryos in the eggs are well developed by the time they are laid.
There is no information about the diet and predators of Aurelio's mountain lizard. A large proportion of the eggs are attacked by fly maggots of the species Sarcophaga protuberans .
Systematics
Aurelio's mountain lizard was first described by Arribas in 1994. He named the species after Aurelio Arribas Ceña, his father. No subspecies are described.
Danger
The IUCN classifies Iberolacerta aurelioi as endangered due to its small, highly fragmented distribution area and the strong decline in the population.
supporting documents
literature
- Dieter Glandt : Pocket dictionary of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. All types from the Canary Islands to the Urals. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-494-01470-8 , pp. 383-385.
