Sand Lizard

Open encyclopedia reference

The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a lacertid lizard. There are several subspecies, including L. a. agilis, L. a. argus, and L. a. exigua. The sand lizard is distributed across most of Europe from the southern coast of Britain and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the northern extremes of the sand lizard's distribution, it survives by inhabiting seaside heathlands, where the ground temperature is elevated by the sun. The sand lizard uses warm sand to thermoregulate itself and to incubate its eggs. Males are known for their bright coloration and aggressive, possessive behaviors when seasonally competing for females. In contrast to other squamates, the sand lizard's mating season is very short. Males choose mates selectively, whereas females mate more indiscriminately. Females usually lay only a single clutch of eggs per year. Sand lizards spend most of their time basking, foraging, or under vegetation. They prefer to live in diverse habitats. They are largely solitary outside of mating season.

Wikipedia contributors, Sand lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:10.635909+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758

Name authority

Linnaeus, 1758

Common name

Sand Lizard

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Lacertidae

Genus

Lacerta

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. genusLacerta
13. speciesLacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 292 records assigned to Lacertidae.

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.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Lacerta&species=agilis 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:6NRCH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.