The Iberian emerald lizard (''Lacerta schreiberi''), also known commonly as Schreiber's green lizard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

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 althou ...

in the family

Lacertidae The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found i ...

. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

Etymology

The specific name, ''schreiberi'', is in honor of Austrian zoologist Egid Schreiber (1836–1913), author of ''Herpetologia Europaea'' (1875). It is known as ''Lagarto-de-água'' (water lizard) in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and ''lagarto verdinegro'' (green and black lizard) in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Geographic range

''Lacerta schreiberi'' is found in Portugal and Spain.

Habitat

The natural habitats of ''L. schreiberi'' are temperate forests and shrublands, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, and pastureland.

Conservation status

''Lacerta schreiberi'' is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

A large species, ''L. schreiberi'' measures about snout-to-vent (SVL); including the tail, it measures about .

Diet

''Lacerta schreiberi'' is mainly

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

, though it also preys on small lizards like the iberian wall lizard or large psammodromus. (in Spanish).

Reproduction

''Lacerta schreiberi'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

. www.reptile-database.org.

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

size varies from 11 to 28 eggs.