NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Italian Wall Lizard
Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810)
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.
Podarcis siculus on the Carasco side of the Entella river
Mariomassone · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (Podarcis siculus, from the Greek meaning foot and agile), is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. P. siculus is native to southern and southeastern Europe, but has also been introduced elsewhere in the continent, as well as North America, where it is a possible invasive species. P. siculus is a habitat generalist and can thrive in natural and human-modified environments. Similarly, P. siculus has a generalized diet as well, allowing it to have its large range.
P. siculus is notable for having many subspecies within its large range. Studies evidence how rapidly P. siculus subspecies can become distinguishable from larger populations given geographic isolation. A 2008 study detailed distinct morphological and behavioral changes in a P. siculus population indicative of "rapid evolution".
P. siculus is a sexually dimorphic lizard species whose physical description varies across its subspecies, but it generally has a green or brown back and white or green belly. It is also oviparous, meaning females lay eggs, and they lay 3 or 4 clutches per year.
Wikipedia contributors, Italian wall lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:21:58.949994+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810)
- Name authority
- (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810)
- Common name
- Italian 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 siculus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810)
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 |
| Dalmatian Wall LizardPodarcis melisellensis (Braun, 1877) | 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 |
| 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=siculus 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:4KPJD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.