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486 Featured Specimen
Common wall lizard

Details

Common wall lizard

Podarcis muralis

Size
Total length 15–25 cm · 4–10 g
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan
4–6 years

The common wall lizard is a small, quick lizard of walls and rocky places. It basks in sun and hunts tiny arthropods over stone and ground.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
PalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearctic

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It inhabits Palearctic urban areas, grassland, and mountain rock. Walls, rubble, stonework, and crevices provide basking sites and refuge.

Appearance

Total length 15-25 cm; weight 4-10 g. It has a slim body, long tail, and brown to grey back with spots or stripes. The belly may be pale or orange-tinged.

Behavior

Diurnal and mostly solitary, it warms in sunny spots. At danger it darts into cracks in walls or rock.

Feeding

A carnivore, it eats small insects, spiders, woodlice, and similar prey. It searches on walls and ground surfaces.

Reproduction

Females lay eggs under soil or stones in warm seasons. Hatchlings hunt tiny arthropods soon after emergence.

Notes

It is listed as Least Concern. It adapts well to stone-built urban habitats and has established introduced populations in some areas.