Carbonell's wall lizard

Appearance

Carbonell's wall lizard grows to a snout-to-vent length of 6.5 cm with a tail about twice as long. Females tend to be slightly larger than males in some localities. The dorsal surface is usually grey or brown, but is sometimes green, copiously speckled with rows of dark markings. The flanks may also be somewhat greenish with reticulated, dark markings. The underparts are whitish and there are often small blue spots along the edge of the belly. Carbonell's wall lizard much resembles the closely related Bocage's wall lizard, but that species tends to have more clearly defined markings and a yellow, orange or pink belly, and lacks the blue spots.

Naming

The specific name, "carbonelli", is in honor of "J. Carbonell" who is the wife of Pérez-Mellado.

Distribution

Carbonell's wall lizard is endemic to Portugal and Spain. Its range consists of a number of isolated populations in western and central Portugal, another in Coto Doñana in southwestern Spain and a separate subspecies is present on the Berlenga Islands off the coast of Portugal.

Behavior

Carbonell's wall lizard is often seen on dry banks where it may be present in large numbers. It takes refuge in cracks and among tree roots. It feeds mainly on arthropods but, particularly on the Berlenga Islands, also consumes snails. In central Portugal there is usually one clutch of two eggs each year, but in the Berlengas, several clutches of up to four eggs are laid. These take ten to fifteen weeks to hatch.

Habitat

Some of the populations are in hills at altitudes of over 500 m, where the lizard occurs in oak woodland and scrub, and others are in sand dunes near the coast.