''Darevskia szczerbaki'', Szczerbak's lizard, also spelled Shcherbak ( Russian: ящерица щербака '' tr. yashcheritsa shcherbaka'') is a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

species in the genus ''

Darevskia ''Darevskia'' is a genus of wall lizards of the family Lacertidae living in the Caucasus, Iran and Turkey in forest and grassy habitats with numerous rock outcrops. Among rock lizards, 7 parthenogenetic species are known. Description These are ...

''. It is endemic to Russia and named after the Ukrainian herpetologist Mykola Szczerbak. Its range along the Black Sea is restricted to areas with coastal cliffs, as they are the favored habitat of the lizard, which has difficulty adapting to most other environments. It is classified as an endangered species, and extinction is considered by some herpetologists because of the high amount of human development in the Caucasus coast and its popularity in the illegal lizard trade of Europe. It is rarely preyed upon, as its main two predators are the Common Kestrel and Olive Snake.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65041078 Darevskia Reptiles described in 1963 Reptiles of Russia Endemic fauna of Russia