Lilford's wall lizard (''Podarcis lilfordi'' ) 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 lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lacertidae. The species is

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 else ...

to the Balearic Islands,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are temperate Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and rocky shores. Originally distributed throughout the Balearics, the introduction of alien species which started with the Romans has confined the species to the uninhabited islets around the major

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, on almost each of which a local subspecies has evolved. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Etymology

''P. lilfordi'' is named in honour of

Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford (18 March 1833 – 17 June 1896), was a British aristocrat and ornithologist. Life Lilford was the eldest son of Thomas Powys, 3rd Baron Lilford, and Mary Elizabeth Fox, daughter of Henry Vassall-Fox ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ornithologist who studied the fauna of the Balearics.

Description

Lilford's wall lizard grows to a maximum snout-to-vent length of but adults are usually a little smaller than this. The tail is about 1.8 times as long as the body. It is a robust streamlined lizard with a short-head and rounded body with smooth, unkeeled scales. The dorsal surface is usually greenish or brownish but varies much between different island subpopulations. There is usually a pale dorso-lateral stripe and there may be several dark streaks or three dark lines running along the spine. The flanks may be slightly reticulated and the underside is white, cream or pinkish. The throat may be blotched with darker colour. Juveniles sometimes have a blue tail.

Geographic range

Lilford's wall lizard is native to the islands of Menorca and Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, the

Cabrera Archipelago Cabrera (, , la, Capraria) is an island in the Balearic Islands, Spain, located in the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coast of Majorca. It is a National Park. The highest point is Na Picamosques (172 m). Cabrera is the largest island of ...

to the south of Mallorca, and the neighbouring rocky islets. However it has been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from the two large islands and is now only present on the islets.

Habitat

''P. lilfordi'' is found at low altitudes. It is a mainly ground-dwelling species and largely inhabits rocky areas and scrubland, although it is found in woodland on Cabrera.

Behaviour

Lilford's wall lizard is a relatively tame lizard and easy to approach. It mainly feeds on insects, spiders and other arthropods, snails and some vegetable matter. This includes flowers and fruits, nectar and pollen. Some plants

to the Balearic Islands depend on this lizard for pollination. Other plants known to be pollinated by it include the mastic tree '' Pistacia lentiscus'', rock samphire ''

Crithmum maritimum ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, with the sole species ''Crithmum maritimum'', known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. The name "samphire" is also used for several other unrela ...

'', wild leek ''

Allium ampeloprasum ''Allium ampeloprasum'' is a member of the onion genus ''Allium''. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to western Asia, but it is cultivated in many other places and has becom ...

'', clustered carline thistle '' Carlina corymbosa'' and the sea daffodil ''

Pancratium maritimum ''Pancratium maritimum'', or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to the Canary Islands and both sides of the Mediterranean region and Black Sea from Portugal, Morocco and the Balearic Islands east to Turkey, Syria, Israel and t ...

''. It is opportunistic around birds' nests in the use of scraps of food that have been regurgitated by

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

s for their chicks. It also sometimes moves to the vicinity of nests of the

Eleonora's falcon Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest re ...

(''Falco eleonorae'') and feeds on the remains of its prey and the flies that accumulate around the nesting site. It is sometimes

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

istic, eating juveniles and the tails of other lizards of its own species.

Reproduction

Breeding takes place in the summer, and females may lay up to three clutches of one to four eggs with an average mass of 0.63 g, large for a lizard of this size. These hatch in about eight weeks and the emerging young measure about from snout to vent.

Conservation status

The population of this lizard seems to be in decline. It was at one time very numerous on Menorca and Mallorca but is no longer found on either. This extirpation may have been caused by the proliferation of cats and by other introduced predators, possibly the false smooth snake (''Macroprotodon cucullatus'') and the

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

(''Mustela nivalis''). Its total area of occupancy on all the small islands on which it is now present is less than so the IUCN lists it as being "

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

Subspecies

There are twenty-seven recognized subspecies many of which are found on only a single island: *'' Podarcis lilfordi lilfordi'' – Aire islet, off the southeastern coast of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

Dragonera Sa Dragonera () is an uninhabited islet in the Balearic Islands, Spain, located just off the west coast of Majorca. It is currently a natural park. Geography Geologically speaking, Dragonera is an emerged part of the geologic system running sou ...

islet, off north of Majorca *'' Podarcis lilfordi hartmanni'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi hospitalis'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi imperialensis'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi isletasi'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi jordansi'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi kuligae'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi nigerrima'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi planae'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi probae'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi porrosicola'' – Porros islet, north of Menorca *'' Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi'' –

Ratas Island lizard The Ratas Island lizard, ''Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi'', is an extinct subspecies of Lilford's wall lizard that once lived on Ratas Island, a tiny, rocky island in the bay of Mahón, Menorca (Spain). But Ratas island, which was its habitat, was ...

– Formerly Ratas Island, in Mahón's harbour (Menorca). Extinct after island was demolished in harbour expansion. *'' Podarcis lilfordi sargantanae'' – islets located by the north coast of Majorca ( Sargantana, Ravells, Bledes and Tusqueta). *'' Podarcis lilfordi toronis'' *'' Podarcis lilfordi xapaticola'' ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

other than ''Podarcis''.