Aeolian wall lizard

Aeolian wall lizard

Raffone's wall lizard

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Podarcis raffonei

The Aeolian wall lizard (Podarcis raffonei), also known commonly as Raffone's wall lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Italy.

Animal name origin

The specific name, raffonei or raffoneae, is in honor of Dr. Antonia Raffone, wife of Dr. Antonino Trischitta. Dr. Trischitta was the collector of the holotype.

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

The natural habitats of P. raffonei are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and rocky shores.

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There are only four locations hosting P. raffonei, all of them in the Aeolian Islands: the island of Strombolicchio, a small islet off the coast of the nearby island of Salina, another off the coast of the island of Filicudi, and some areas of Vulcano.

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Habits and Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Population

Population number

The overall population of P. raffonei is around one thousand specimens distributed on a surface not bigger than 20,000 m2 (.008 mi2). It is believed that once this rare lizard inhabited a larger area, but the competition with the very common Italian wall lizard, introduced by man, reduced its distribution to a smaller area.

References

1. Aeolian wall lizard Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolian_wall_lizard
2. Aeolian wall lizard on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61552/12514822

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