ANIMAL: Common/European Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis Type of Animal: Lacertid Habitat: Rocky environments, walls, quarries, roadsides, road embankments, railways, tracks, tree trunks, urban areas, suburban areas, sunny areas of human development, backyards, vineyards, buildings, open sunny areas w/ little vegetation, scrubland, woodland, orchards, fields, gardens, shrubland, temperate grassland, forest Location(s): Native to Europe ranging from N Spain & France in west to W Turkey in east. Introduced in S Britain & parts of North America, especially in SW British Columbia, NW Washington & on the Indiana-Ohio-Kentucky border. Appearance: Rather small thin lizard, usually brownish/greyish, sometimes tinged w/ green, noticeable spots on back, dark throat markings, reddish/pinkish/orangish belly, brown/grey/rust tail, comes in 6 color morphs-white, red-orange, yellow, white-yellow, white-red, & yellow-red Food/Diet: Insects, spiders, earthworms, fruit, berries Status in Wild: Stable Lifestyle: Solitary or small groups of a male w/ 1-10 females. Sometimes multiple small groups form larger colonies of up to 30 lizards. Additional Info: Called: Male Female Young: Hatchling Group: Lounge/Leap/Colony Weight: Male: 0.5 oz Female: 0.47 oz Gestation: 3 months Life Span: 4-5 years in wild, 7-10 years in captivity Body Length: Male: 8-9 in Female: 6.5-7 in Tail Length: Male: 5.3-6 in Female: 4.3-4.67 in Main predators are birds, snakes, mammals, & arachnids. Females lay 2-3 clutches per year, w/ each clutch having 2-11 eggs. These lizards are rather skittish & move quite fast. Breed in spring. These lizards are excellent climbers. Active during day (diurnal). Invasive in British Columbia due to high densities & high adaptability. Fun Fact(s): Known in Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana border area as Lazarus Lizard due to being released in Cincinnati area in 1951 by 10-year old boy George Rau, Jr, a member of the family that owned Lazarus department store chain. George snuck 10 lizards back from vacation in N Italy, releasing them into backyard. Females of different morphs shown to have different reproductive strategies-i.e. yellow morph females producing many smaller eggs, white morph females produce fewer larger eggs, other morphs use both strategies. Introduced population in SW British Columbia/NW Washington derives from 12 lizards released from small private zoo in 1970. Like many other lizards, this species can drop its tail as defense strategy, w/ new tail slowly growing back.
