''Podarcis cretensis'', the Cretan wall lizard, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...
of
lacertid
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 ...
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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
(including its satellite islands).
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of ''Podarcis erhardii
''Podarcis'' is a genus of lizards in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. Its members look very similar to lizards of the genus ''Lacerta (genus), Lacerta'', to which they were considered to belong until the 1970s. While similar externally ...
''.[ Genetic analysis, however, revealed that it is a separate species closely related to '' Podarcis peloponnesiacus''.]
References
cretensis
Reptiles described in 1952
Lizards of Europe
Endemic fauna of Crete
Taxa named by Otto von Wettstein
{{lacertidae-stub