Timon (genus)

Ocellated lizard ( Timon lepidus )

Timon is a genus of lizards rights that occurs with three species in the Iberian Peninsula, in the south of France, in the extreme north -west of Italy, Morocco, the Western Sahara and northern Algeria and Tunisia. Another, the Zagroseidechse ( Timon princeps ), lives in eastern Turkey, in the northeastern Syria, northern Iraq and in Southwestern Iran.

Features

Timon species possess as nationals of Lacerta, her sister genus, strong and not flattened heads and bodies. However, they are even bigger and achieve a head-body length of 10 to 21 cm or more. Males are larger than females. On the premaxilla usually sit nine teeth, and the pterygoid is dentate. The hemipenis has small hooked spines.

The basic color of Timon species is green, gray or brown, the ventral surface greenish to greenish yellow or whitish, with no dark mottling. On the shoulder region and flanks often show bruises, sometimes multiple rows. The color of the throat may be different from the abdominal color and, depending on the type, yellow, orange, red or light blue. Young animals do not have brightly colored tails.

Way of life

Timon - species prefer habitats with bushy vegetation and feed on similar Lacerta of larger prey. They are oviparous, that lay eggs. During mating the male bites into the flank of the female. A clutch consists of 5 to 22 eggs. The hatching young lizards have large heads and short limbs and thus show a child pattern.

Species

• Ocellated lizard ( Timon lepidus ) ( Daudin, 1802)
• Timon pater ( Lataste, 1880)
• Zagroseidechse ( Timon princeps) ( Blanford, 1874)
• Morocco Ocellated lizard ( Timon tangitanus ) ( Boulenger, 1889)