Malta lizard
| Malta lizard | ||||||||||||
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P. filfolensis ssp. maltensis , male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Podarcis filfolensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Bedriaga , 1876) |
The Malta lizard ( Podarcis filfolensis ) is a species of the wall lizard ( Podarcis ).
features
The Malta lizard is a medium to larger species of lizard. Their total length is about 25 centimeters, their head-torso length a maximum of 8.6 centimeters. However, the species usually remains smaller. The dorsal scales are only slightly keeled or smooth. The collar is smooth-edged. The drawing and coloring of the species are very variable. The basic color of the top can be brown, gray, green or yellow-green. Sometimes there is no drawing, sometimes there is an irregular or fully pronounced dark center line of the back or a row of dark spots along the center of the back. Black spots are possible on the flanks. Often a dark mesh pattern is pronounced on the entire upper side. The mesh pattern can be so dense that the top is almost completely black. The underside is colored white, orange, yellow or red and has no or dark to black spots. The throat is often spotted, as is the stomach. Mostly black-topped animals also have a predominantly black belly.
The eggs are parchment-shelled, 10 to 14.5 millimeters long and 6 to 8 millimeters wide.
Occurrence
Podarcis filfolensis is native to Malta and the Pelagic Islands . It was brought in recently on the Italian island of Lampedusa . It can be found from sea level to an altitude of 190 meters above sea level (on Linosa). Their habitat includes sunny areas near the coast, little overgrown rocks, scree slopes and dense dwarf shrub vegetation. It can also be found in anthropogenic habitats such as gardens, stone walls and road embankments.
Way of life
Malta lizards are active all year round. They only hide in cold weather or rain. The main activity time is from March to June and in September and October. The mating season is in April and May. As a rule, the females only lay one clutch of 1 to 4 eggs, but it could be that, as in captivity, there are sometimes two clutches. The eggs are buried in small holes under bushes or roots of young plants. The young hatch at the end of summer.
During investigations on the island of Linosa it was found that the species mainly feeds on ants, beetles and plants (different parts of Lavatera arborea ). Cannibalism is common and the prey is probably mostly young.
There is hardly any information about predators. On Linosa, willow sparrows have been observed to consume Malta lizards. The four snake species found in Malta, Hemorrhois algirus , Hierophis viridiflavus , Zamenis situla and Telescopus fallax, may also prey on the Malta lizard.
Systematics
Five subspecies are recognized for the Malta lizard:
- Podarcis filfolensis ssp. filfolensis is endemic to the island of Filfla (= Filfola) south of Malta .
- Podarcis filfolensis ssp. generalensis occurs only on the rock island Fungus west of Gozo .
- Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Kieselbachi can only be found on the island of Selmunet (= San Paul) off the Maltese north coast.
- Podarcis filfolensis ssp. laurentiimuelleri can be found on the two Pelagic Islands Linosa and Lampione
- Podarcis filfolensis ssp. maltensis lives on Malta , Gozo and Kemmuna .
supporting documents
- 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. 485-486.
Web links
- Podarcis filfolensis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Claudia Corti, Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Roberto Sindaco, Antonio Romano, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- Podarcis filfolensis in The Reptile Database