Small canary lizard
| Small canary lizard | ||||||||||||
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Small Canary Lizard ( Gallotia caesaris gomerae ) |
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| Gallotia caesaris | ||||||||||||
| ( Lehrs , 1914) |
The Small Canary Lizard ( Gallotia caesaris ) is a lizard from the Lacertidae family that is endemic to the western Canary Islands of El Hierro and La Gomera . In Madeira it was introduced by humans.
There are two subspecies :
- Gallotia caesaris caesaris (Lehrs, 1914) on El Hierro
- Gallotia caesaris gomerae (Boettger & Müller, 1914) on La Gomera
features
For the genus canary lizards small species with head-torso lengths up to 15 cm. The scales on the upper side of the body are very fine, with 10–12 large scales above the middle of the abdomen. The males have a jet black head, the rest of the body is dark brown to black in color. Their flanks are unmarked or loosely covered with tiny bluish or greenish spots. Females and juveniles have a brownish color with clearly pronounced light vertical stripes that begin at the snout, extend over the eyes, run over the back and flanks and continue into the tail. Non-dominant males can be colored like females. Small canary lizards (in contrast to the canary lizard Gallotia gallotia ) always have a black throat.
habitat
Both El Hierro and La Gomera are populated almost everywhere. The species also lives on the uninhabited rocky island of Roque Grande de Salmor off the northwest coast of El Hierro.
On El Hierro all suitable habitats between the surf area of the rocky coast and the highest points of the island are inhabited. B. in the natural stone walls typical of the Canary Islands, opuntia thickets and lava areas with little vegetation can be observed in large numbers. La Gomera is also populated almost everywhere, but the species is never as common as on the neighboring island, the laurel and gale tree heather forests in the center of La Gomera are largely free of lizards.
Way of life
Gallotia caesaris feeds mainly on arthropods (e.g. grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, sea isopods), but also eats plant-based food (e.g. fruits of blackberries or optuntia, flower nectar). The tomatoes, grapes and bananas grown on both islands are eaten with pleasure, so the lizards are often considered pests. On fresh rubbish heaps they use both the leftover food and the insects attracted by them.
For a long time, the small Canarian lizard was not regarded as a separate species, and there are no field observations on reproduction (as of 2000).
literature
- E. Nicholas Arnold: A field guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Britain and Europe. Reprinted with corrections. Collins, London 2004, ISBN 3-494-01301-2 , pp. 182-183.
- Wolfgang Bischoff (Ed.): The reptiles of the Canary Islands, the Selvagens Islands and the Madeira Archipelago. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2000, ISBN 3-494-01301-2 , pp. 265-286.
- Jose Antonio Mateo Miras, Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Paulo Sá-Sousa, Iñigo Martínez-Solano 2008. Gallotia caesaris. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Art page at the IUCN
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Bischoff (Hrsg.): The reptiles of the Canary Islands, the Selvagens Islands and the Madeira Archipelago. 2000, pp. 265-286.
- ^ E. Nicholas Arnold: A field guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Britain and Europe. 2004, pp. 182-183.
Web links
- Photos of the small Canarian lizard on www.herp.it
- Gallotia caesaris in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Miras et al , 2008. Accessed June 11, 2011th
- Gallotia caesaris in The Reptile Database