Pyrenean mountain lizard
| Pyrenean mountain lizard | ||||||||||||
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Pyrenean mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta bonnali ) |
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| Iberolacerta bonnali | ||||||||||||
| ( Lantz , 1927) |
The Pyrenean mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta bonnali ) is a species of lizard belonging to the genus Iberolacerta .
features
The Pyrenean mountain lizard is very similar to the Iberian mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta monticola ). She is a diminutive Iberolacerta - Art . Males reach a head-torso length up to 59 millimeters, females up to 65 millimeters. The back is grayish or brownish-gray in color and has either no or pale spots arranged in two rows. The spots are especially formed in the area of the front back and are more common in males than in females. A dark, pale longitudinal stripe running down the middle of the back is present in some of the animals. Often this longitudinal stripe is interrupted or dissolved in spots. Light vertical stripes at the border between the back and flanks are usually not present. When they occur, they are only weak and mainly present in the area of the front body. A wide and deep dark blue, monochrome longitudinal ligament is formed on the flank in both sexes. The underside of the body is unspotted and pure white. Some of the males have dark spots on the edges of the outermost abdominal shields, which very rarely can also be blue. The top of the young is uniformly gray or brownish gray. There are two pale dark vertical stripes. Their tail is usually greyish on top with a slight greenish or bluish tinge.
Occurrence
The Pyrenean mountain lizard is common in the central Pyrenees north and south of the main ridge. It occurs in France in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the southeast and in the Hautes-Pyrénées department between Ossau and the Aure Valley, in Spain from the Ariel massif in the west to the Aigües-Tortes National Park in the east. The vertical distribution of this type of high mountain ranges from 1700 meters above sea level on the Monte Perdido massif to 3062 meters above sea level. NN ( Ballibierna and Balaitous ). On southern slopes it occurs above 2000 meters, on northern slopes below. The species' habitat is almost exclusively rocks. The Pyrenees mountain lizard is particularly common and in high density on rock rich in crevices such as slate and fissured limestone, whereas it is correspondingly less common on rock poor in crevices ( gneiss , granite ). The vegetation of their habitat often consists only of dwarf shrubs, grasses and low herbs. In the higher areas of the distribution area, the growing season lasts only about 3 months. There is permanent snow here for 6 to 9 months a year.
Way of life
The annual period of activity of the Pyrenean mountain lizard in higher areas only lasts approximately from mid-May to the end of September. Young and adolescent animals are active until the first half of October. The animals mate in the second half of May or the first half of June. In the period from mid-June to mid-July, the females set up a clutch under medium-sized stones. These consist of 2 to 4, usually 3 eggs. These are 12 to 15 millimeters long and 6 to 10 millimeters wide. The young hatch from mid-August.
The species feeds on insects such as beetles , dipteras , ants and other hymenoptera, butterfly larvae, bed bugs, cicadas and aphids. Spiders also make up a smaller proportion. There is no information about predators. The fly species Sarcophaga protuberans can attack the eggs with its maggots.
Systematics
The Pyrenean mountain lizard was first described by Louis Amédée Lantz in 1927 . It is named after Marcel Comte de Bonnal , who first caught specimens of the species. The species has long been considered a subspecies of Iberolacerta monticola . No subspecies have been described for I. bonnali , it is considered monotypical .
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. 385-387.
Web links
- Iberolacerta bonnali inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- Iberolacerta bonnali in The Reptile Database