Aeolian wall lizard

The Aeolian wall lizard (Podarcis raffonei), also known commonly as Raffone's wall lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Italy.

Aeolian wall lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Podarcis
Species:
P. raffonei
Binomial name
Podarcis raffonei
(Mertens, 1952)
Synonyms[1]
  • Lacerta sicula raffonei
    Mertens, 1952
  • Podarcis wagleriana raffonei
    Capula, 1987
  • Podarcis raffonei
    Corti & Lo Cascio, 2002
  • Podarcis raffoneae
    Michels & Bauer, 2005
  • Podarcis raffonei
    Speybroeck & Crochet, 2007

Etymology

The specific name, raffonei or raffoneae, is in honor of Dr. Antonia Raffone, wife of Dr. Antonino Trischitta. Dr. Trischitta was the collector of the holotype.[2]

Habitat

The natural habitats of P. raffonei are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and rocky shores.[3]

Geographic range

There are only four locations hosting P. raffonei, all of them in the Aeolian Islands: the island of Strombolicchio, a small islet off the coast of the nearby island of Salina, another off the coast of the island of Filicudi, and some areas of Vulcano.[3]

Conservation status

The overall population of P. raffonei is around one thousand specimens distributed on a surface not bigger than 20,000 m2 (.008 mi2). It is believed that once this rare lizard inhabited a larger area, but the competition with the very common Italian wall lizard, introduced by man, reduced its distribution to a smaller area.[3]

References

  1. Species Podarcis raffonei at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Podarcis raffoneae, p. 215).
  3. Corti C, Pérez-Mellado V, Sindaco R, Romano A (2009). "Podarcis raffonei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61552A12514822. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61552A12514822.en.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

  • Mertens R (1952) "Neue Eidechsenrassen von den Liparischen Inseln ". Senckenbergiana 32 (5/6): 309-314 + Plates 1–2. (Lacerta sicula raffonei, new subspecies, pp. 313–314 + Plate 2, figure 3). (in German).



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