NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Dalmatian Wall Lizard
Podarcis melisellensis (Braun, 1877)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Dalmatian wall lizard (Podarcis melisellensis) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and pastureland. Dalmatian wall lizards grow up to 65 mm (2.6 in) in snout–vent length. Tail is about twice as long as the body. Female lizards lay 2–8 eggs. Juveniles are about 25 mm (0.98 in) in snout–vent length upon hatching. These lizards display three ventral color morphs: yellow, orange and white. A male that is an orange color morph is seen as a more dominant male than any other morph in intrasexual competition, since the orange color displays the lizard as more aggressive.
Wikipedia contributors, Dalmatian wall lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:32:25.686401+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Podarcis melisellensis (Braun, 1877)
- Name authority
- (Braun, 1877)
- Common name
- Dalmatian Wall Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lacertidae
- Genus
- Podarcis
- 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
- genusPodarcis
- speciesPodarcis melisellensis (Braun, 1877)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Podarcis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cretan Wall LizardPodarcis cretensis (Wettstein, 1952) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Filfola Wall LizardPodarcis filfolensis (Bedriaga, 1876) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Skyros Wall LizardPodarcis gaigeae (Werner, 1930) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guadarrama Wall LizardPodarcis guadarramae (Boscá, 1916) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Iberian Wall LizardPodarcis hispanicus (Steindachner, 1870) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lilford's Wall LizardPodarcis lilfordi (Günther, 1874) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catalonian Wall LizardPodarcis liolepis (Boulenger, 1905) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peloponnese Wall LizardPodarcis peloponnesiacus (Bibron & Bory, 1833) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ibiza Wall LizardPodarcis pityusensis (Boscá, 1883) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Italian Wall LizardPodarcis siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Podarcis vaucheri (Boulenger, 1905) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Geniez’s Wall LizardPodarcis virescens Geniez, Sá-Sousa, Guillaume, Cluchier & Crochet, 2014 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
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=Podarcis&species=melisellensis 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4KPHZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.