Lacerta (genus)

For the constellation, see Lacerta.

Lacerta Temporal range: Miocene—Present, 15–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Lacerta agilis, sand lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Tribe:	Lacertini
Genus:	Lacerta Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Nine, see text.

Lacerta is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae.

Taxonomy

Lacerta was a fairly diverse genus containing around 40 species, until it was "split" into nine genera in 2007 by Arnold, Arribas & Carranza.

Fossil record

The earliest known members of the genus Lacerta are known from early Miocene epoch fossils indistinguishable in anatomy from the modern green lizards such as Lacerta viridis.

Species

The genus Lacerta contains the following species.

• Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758 – sand lizard
• Lacerta bilineata Daudin, 1802 – western green lizard
• Lacerta media Lantz & Cyrén, 1920
• Lacerta mosoufi Baloutch, 1976
• Lacerta pamphylica Schmidtler, 1975
• Lacerta schreiberi Bedriaga, 1878 – Iberian emerald lizard
• Lacerta strigata Eichwald, 1831 – Caucasus emerald lizard
• Lacerta trilineata Bedriaga, 1886 - Balkan green lizard, Balkan emerald lizard
• Lacerta viridis (Laurenti, 1768) – European green lizard

Some species formerly in Lacerta

Arranged alphabetically by specific name:

• Anatololacerta anatolica – Anatolian rock lizard
• Atlantolacerta andreanskyi – Atlas dwarf lizard, Andreansky's lizard
• Iberolacerta aranica – Aran rock lizard
• Iberolacerta aurelioi – Aurelio's rock lizard
• Archaeolacerta bedriagae – Bedriaga's rock lizard
• Iberolacerta bonnali – Pyrenean rock lizard
• Apathya cappadocica – Anatolian lizard
• Darevskia chlorogaster – Green-bellied lizard
• Phoenicolacerta cyanisparsa
• Omanosaura cyanura – blue-tailed Oman lizard
• Anatololacerta danfordi – Danford's lizard
• Darevskia defilippii – Elburs lizard
• Darevskia dryada (Darevsky & Tuniyev, 1997)
• Teira dugesii – Madeiran wall lizard
• Hellenolacerta graeca – Greek rock lizard
• (Lacerta herseyi = Zootoca vivipara)
• Iberolacerta horvathi – Horvath's rock lizard
• Omanosaura jayakari – Jayakar's lizard
• Phoenicolacerta kulzeri
• Phoenicolacerta laevis – Lebanon lizard
• Timon lepidus – ocellated lizard, foot lizard
• Iberolacerta monticola – Iberian rock lizard
• Archaeolacerta mosorensis - Mosor rock lizard
• Podarcis muralis – common wall lizard
• Anatololacerta oertzeni
• Dalmatolacerta oxycephala – sharp-snouted rock lizard
• Parvilacerta parva – dwarf lizard
• Darevskia steineri
• Zootoca vivipara – viviparous lizard
• Iranolacerta zagrosica

Further reading

• Arnold EN, Arribas OJ, Carranza S. 2007. "Systematics of the Palaearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with descriptions of eight new genera". Zootaxa 1430: 1-86.

• Linnaeus C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, diferentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Lacerta, new genus, p. 200). (in Latin).