Aran rock lizard

Val- d'Aràn - rock lizard ( Iberolacerta aranica )

The Val- d'Aràn - rock lizard ( Iberolacerta aranica ) is a species of lizard of the genus Iberolacerta.

Features

The Val- d'Aràn - rock lizard is a medium sized lizard. Males reach a snout-vent length up to 62 mm, females to 67 mm. With its relatively short head, short legs and short tail it resembles the viviparous lizard ( Zootoca vivipara ). The back has a grayish color, which is sometimes tinged brownish or olive. The back many a male is glossy metallic green. In the middle of the back is rarely a fine dark line available. On each back side usually runs a series of dark spots along that sometimes extend to the tail. In the front half of the body two irregular -edged, light longitudinal bands are developed at the boundary between the back and flanks. From the area of ​​the temples down to the anterior caudal pages running on the flanks of a dark brown to black, wide band along. The underside is white, bluish or greenish shimmer but may, depending on the light. In the males, are located on the posterior abdominal signs small black spots, in females these are present only in a small proportion of the animals. Some bruising may be on the outer abdominal signs in a small number of males are. The tail of the young animals is as gray as the rest of the body in general. In some populations, however, also young animals are found with blue tails.

Occurrence

The Val- d'Aràn - rock lizard is endemic to a small area of the central Pyrenees on the Spanish-French border. It comes only in Mauberme massif, including its foothills between the Val d' Aràn in Spain and the Ariège in France,. The whole of the range is only about 36 square kilometers, most of it located in Spain.

Iberolacerta aranica is a specialized Hochgebirgsart. She was previously at altitudes of 1900 m ( Cabana of Calhaus, Lerida ) to 2668 m demonstrated ( near the summit of the Tuc de Mauberme, Lleida ). Their habitat are talus slopes, boulder fields and rocky grasslands. The surface consists of shale and limestone. At these altitudes the growing season is only three months.

Way of life

The annual activity period of the species ranges approximately from mid-May to late September. Young and half-grown animals can be active until the first half of October. The mating season is from mid-May to late June. Only a scrim is issued per year. This occurs from late June to mid-July, usually under medium-sized stones. A nest usually consists of 2-5 eggs. These are 10 to 15 mm long and 7-11 mm wide. When oviposition they already contain fully developed embryos. Pups were observed from the second half of August. About food and predators is virtually nothing is known. The type of fly Sarcophaga protuberans attacks with their maggots part of the nest.

System

The Val- d'Aràn - rock lizard was first described by Arribas 1993. There are no described subspecies. Together with Aurelio's rock lizard ( I. aurelioi ) and the Pyrenean rock lizard ( I. bonnali ) it is placed in the subgenus Pyrenesaura.

Documents

• Dieter Glandt: Pocket Encyclopaedia of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-494-01470-8, pp. 381 - 383