Canarian Spotted Lizard

Open encyclopedia reference

The Tenerife speckled lizard (Gallotia intermedia) is a lacertid (wall lizard) endemic to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is the smallest member of the clade containing the western islands' giant species.

It was discovered in 1996 by biologist Efraín Hernández in the Macizo de Teno in the extreme northwest of Tenerife. Although it is believed that the species was once widespread throughout much of the island, nowadays it is only known from a small area of coastline in the extreme west of the island, and also from Montana de Guaza in the extreme south.

The total number of animals in the northwestern distribution area is 500 (estimated in 2008), in 40 isolated populations along altogether 9 km of coastline. In the south, there are about 100 animals. The main threat to this lizard is predation by feral cats and, to a lesser degree, by rats. The lizards are increasing in number since the turn of the century as a result of control of introduced mammals.

Wikipedia contributors, Tenerife speckled lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:27:51.185796+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Gallotia intermedia Barbadillo, Lacoba, Pérez-Mellado, Sancho & López-Jurado, 1999

Name authority

Barbadillo, Lacoba, Pérez-Mellado, Sancho & López-Jurado, 1999

Common name

Canarian Spotted Lizard

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Lacertidae

Genus

Gallotia

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderAutarchoglossa
11. familyLacertidae
12. genusGallotia
13. speciesGallotia intermedia Barbadillo, Lacoba, Pérez-Mellado, Sancho & López-Jurado, 1999

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gallotia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 292 records assigned to Lacertidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gallotia&species=intermedia Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3F6ZP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.