NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Simony's Lizard
Gallotia simonyi (Steindachner, 1889)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
El lagarto Gigante de El Hierro (Gallotia Simonyi, subespecie Machadoi) es endémico de esta isla canaria. Es una especie en peligro de extinción. El Lagartario es un centro de recuperación, donde se han criado más de 300 lagartos. Algunos han sido soltados en el Roque Chico de Salmor.
CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Simony's giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi) is a large species of wall lizard endemic to the island of El Hierro and nearby islet Roque Chico de Salmor in the Canary Islands.
Wikipedia contributors, Simony's giant lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:50:30.712320+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gallotia simonyi (Steindachner, 1889)
- Name authority
- (Steindachner, 1889)
- Common name
- Simony's 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyLacertidae
- genusGallotia
- speciesGallotia simonyi (Steindachner, 1889)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gallotia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic LizardGallotia atlantica (Peters & Doria, 1882) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gallotia auaritae Mateo, Garcia-Marquez, López-Jurado & Barahona, 2001 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gallot's LizardGallotia galloti (Oudart, 1839) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gran Canaria Giant LizardGallotia stehlini (Schenkel, 1901) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gomera Giant LizardGallotia bravoana Hutterer, 1985 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boettger’s LizardGallotia caesaris (Lehrs, 1914) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Canarian Spotted LizardGallotia intermedia Barbadillo, Lacoba, Pérez-Mellado, Sancho & López-Jurado, 1999 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gallotia goliath | synonym |
| Lacerta simonyi Steindachner, 1889 Steindachner, 1889 | synonym |
| Gallotia maxima | synonym |
| Gallotia simonyi machadoi López-Jurado, 1989 López-Jurado, 1989 | synonym |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gallotia&species=simonyi 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:3F6ZQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.