Podarcis muralis

Wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis )

The wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis ) belongs to the class of reptiles ( Reptilia ), the family of the Real lizards ( Lacertidae ) and to the genus of wall lizards ( Podarcis ). It was proclaimed by the German Society for Herpetology and Herpetoculture for reptile of 2011.

Features

The wall lizard reaches a total length of 25 centimeters. She is slim and acts in the dorsal region, due to their body length often flattened. The collar is usually smooth border, the dorsal scales slightly keeled. The tail can reach twice the snout-vent length. The dorsal coloration is light to medium brown or gray, sometimes greenish. Striking is an irregular blackish mottling, which sometimes forms a network pattern. The underside is very variable, colored, to red and spotted unspotted from whitish to yellowish up strong or spotted. Depending on the origin, the animals can vary greatly in body coloration and color pattern, thus the animals are partly elusive. Particularly in Southern and Southeastern Europe, there are numerous subspecies.

Distribution and habitat

The wall lizard is widespread east of North, Northeast and Central Spain over Central Europe and the Balkans to the west coast of the Black Sea. The natural distribution limit in the north is achieved in the Channel Islands, in northern France, South of Belgium and the south of the Netherlands. In Germany, the species occurs mainly in the southwest of Baden- Württemberg and Rhineland -Palatinate ago. This favorable climate hillsides along the Rhine, Neckar, Moselle, Nahe, Lahn, Rur and Ahr are preferred. Other resources exist in Hessen and Saarland. In North Rhine -Westphalia, the type naturally occurs in Bonn and in the Eifel region in the Rhine Valley. The largest population north of the Alps lives on the premises of the Zurich main train station.

Remarkable are the many naturalized and disappearances outside, but also within their natural range. Examples of non-local populations exist in Germany (including Duisburg, Bochum, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Bonn, Bielefeld, Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Aschaffenburg, Dresden, Leipzig, Donauwörth, Kelheim, Passau and Freiburg), in Austria (including Linz, Schärding, Klosterneuburg ), in the south of the UK (Portland, Bournemouth, Ventnor, Shoreham- by-Sea ), in Canada ( Near Victoria, Vancouver Iceland ) and in the U.S. ( and around Cincinnati, Ohio and Kentucky, Clarksville, Indiana [ Indiana ] ).

The wall lizard inhabited a wide range of habitat. The animals are found preferably on exposed south-east or south-west areas. In these habitats results in optimum utilization of the morning or the afternoon sun.

The lizards that live in the cavities of walls, use this shelter both for protection against cold in the night and also to protect against the extremely high temperatures during the midday heat in summer. Are generally low walls with uniformly distributed open joints and crevices. The animals prefer one hand diverse vegetated wall surfaces that attract plenty of insects, on the other hand, unvegetated surfaces to sunbathe there. A low wall growth can be compensated by adjacent natural vegetation at the foot of the wall. An influence of the height of the wall to the colonization by the lizards is unknown. Lizards that live in ruins, are in effect using the entire wall surface. The same is true for the colonization of rock faces and scree slopes. As a typical synanthropic the wall lizard is also in vineyards, found at railway and road embankments and buildings in towns and cities. Occasionally, the type also of open, vertical rock faces of quarries.

The wall lizard is always active during the day. It is very nimble and climbs very well. The nest is placed under rocks or in small burrows itself. It comprises two to ten eggs. Under favorable living and environmental conditions two to three years clutches are possible. The young hatch after about six weeks from late June to early August.

Threats and conservation

The activities undertaken in the recent years to Rebflurbereinigung have led to several regional stock losses in the wall lizard. There are problems of climbing rocks, where the habitat is lost in the boarding area of climbing routes. Frequently it comes to soil compaction and erosion of the rock climbing. Examples of such problems of the wall lizard climbing areas are in the nature reserve " red sandstone rocks in Rurtal between Heimbach and Kreuzau " in the Eifel and the quarry Stenzelberg in NSG Seven Mountains near Bonn. Other dangers are threatening the animals due to improper filling of quarries. In advance of such interventions Umsiedelungsmaßnahmen be addressed again and again and practiced now and then. The experiences and observations show, however, in general, that Verfrachtungen intact lizard populations in other ( foreign ) habitats are highly questionable. With the relocation of the new habitat can very quickly come to the limits of its food and habitat capacities depending on the number of verfrachteten animals, especially when in the selected habitat already living lizards. But also for other reptile species of the same habitat type, the competition intensified regarding food and resting habitat (for example, for the slow-worm ). Therefore relocations are not justifiable as so-called " rescue operation " of nature conservation in general.

Legal protection status (selection)

  • Fauna-Flora -Habitat Directive ( FFH Directive) Annex IV ( strictly protected species )
  • Federal Nature Conservation Act ( Federal Nature Conservation Act ): strictly protected

National Red List classifications (selection)

  • Red List of the Federal Republic of Germany: V - early warning
  • Austria's Red List: EN ( endangered )
  • Red List of Switzerland: LC ( not at risk )

Literature (selection )

  • Amo, L., P. Lopez and J. Martin ( 2006): Nature- based tourism as a form of predation risk Affects, body condition and health state of Podarcis muralis lizards. Biological conservation 131: 402-409.
  • Blab, J., P. Brüggemann & H. Sauer ( 1991): Animals in the civilization landscape. Part II: Spatial integration and habitat use of reptiles and amphibians in the Drachenfelser Ländchen. Bookshops. Land Stewardship Conservation 34: 94 S. Bonn-Bad Godesberg.
  • Chemla, C. ( 2005): Survival contrasting Leisure: lizards and sport climbing at Stenzelberg FFh in the area Seven Mountains. Newsletter herpetofauna NRW 26: 27-30.
  • Dexel R. (1986 ): On the ecology of Podarcis muralis wall lizard ( Laurent, 1768) ( Sauria: Lacertidae ) on its northern border area. II population structure and dynamics. Salamandra 22 ( 4), 259-271.
  • Fritz, K. ( 1987): The importance of anthropogenic sites as habitat for the common wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis ), illustrated by the example of the southern Upper Rhine and the Western High Rhine valley. Beih. Publications of Nature Landscape Maintenance of Baden-Wurttemberg. 41, 427-462.
  • Gruschwitz, M. & W. Böhme (1986 ): Podarcis muralis ( Laurenti, 1768) - Wall Lizard. In: Handbook of reptiles and amphibians of Europe. Böhme, W. (eds. ) 2, 155-208, Wiesbaden.
  • Haber Bosch, R. & G. May- Forward (1987 ): Ecological demands of the common wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis ) to vineyard walls on the district Heilbronn. Beih. Publications of Nature Landscape Maintenance of Baden-Wurttemberg. 41, 407-426.
  • Klünder, J. & D. Siehoff (1997): Natural protection concept for the new red sandstone rocks in Rurtal. Series Nature Protection in the district of Düren, 1
  • Kramer, G. ( 1938): Information on reproduction and development of wall lizards. - Senckenbergiana 20, 66-80.
  • Kollar, R. (1986 ): The importance of pairing Podarcis muralis of march ( Laurenti, 1768). Ann. Naturh. Mus. Vienna 87, 69-81.
  • Light, P., H.E. Hoyer & P.G.W.J. van Oordt (1969). Influence of photoperiod and temperature on testicular recrudescence and body growth in the lizards, Lacerta sicula and Lacerta muralis. J. ZOOL. 157, 469-501.
  • Schulte, U. (2008 ): The wall lizard. Laurenti -Verlag, Bielefeld 160 S.
  • Schulte, U., K. Bidinger, G. drawbar, A. Hochkirch, B. Thies Meier & M. Veith (2011): Distribution, geographical origin and nature protection aspects of allochthonous occurrence of the common wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis ) in Germany. - Journal of Feldherpetologie 18: 161-180.
  • Schulte, U., Veith, M. & A. Hochkirch (2012 ): Rapid genetic assimilation of native populations wall lizard ( Podarcis muralis ) through extensive hybridization with Introduced lineages. - Molecular Ecology 21: 4313-4326.
Squamata Biotope
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