Ratas Island Lizard

Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi, sometimes referred to as German Rata Lizard, is an extinct subspecies of the Balearic lizard ( Podarcis lilfordi ).

The lizard was endemic to the Isla Rata, a small neighboring island of Illa del Rei in the bay of Mahon ( Menorca). The specific epithet honors the Spanish botanist Juan Joaquín Rodríguez y Femenías, in 1903 the holotype collected.

Description

The males reach a snout - anus length of 76.7 mm, females 62.5 millimeters. The dark green colored cock was about 1 3/4 times as long as the body. The animals were quite robustly built with a relatively large head and short legs. The coloration of the back varied from olive brown and green to dark blue and green. The flanks and legs were green with a grayish tint. The coloration of the abdomen ranged from reddish to yellowish.

Extinction

The subspecies was last seen in 1950. For the construction of the port of Mahon in Menorca wide areas were blown up with dynamite and the habitat completely destroyed. Today there are only four specimens in museum collections. Lorenz Müller paratype from 1927 has been destroyed.