Bocage's Wall Lizard
Podarcis bocagei
To escape predators, this lizard can voluntarily shed its tail. The detached tail continues to wriggle violently, distracting the predator while the lizard slips away to grow a new one.
- Scientific name
- Podarcis bocagei
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Reptilia › Squamata › Lacertidae › Podarcis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Atlantic deciduous forest edges, shrubby heathlands, coastal sand dunes, and traditional stone walls.
- Diet
- Small terrestrial invertebrates, including spiders, beetles, flies, and ants.
- Range
- Portugal, Spain
- Size
- Snout-to-vent length of 5 to 6.5 cm, with the tail often doubling its total length.
- Lifespan
- 4 to 6 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation due to intensive agriculture, commercial afforestation with eucalyptus, and excessive pesticide use reducing insect prey.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and wary. This lizard will quickly flee if approached. Safe to observe from any distance. Avoid capturing or handling, as extreme stress can cause it to drop its tail (autotomy). If handled and bitten, the bite is harmless; simply wash the skin with soap and warm water.
Bocage's wall lizard ( Podarcis bocagei ) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, sandy shores, rural gardens, and urban areas. The IUCN does not consider it to be threatened.
Photo: Tony KM, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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