Aeolian wall lizard

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.

Aeolian wall lizard
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Podarcis
Species:	P. raffonei
Binomial name
Podarcis raffonei (Mertens, 1952)
Synonyms[1]
Lacerta sicula raffonei Mertens, 1952 Podarcis wagleriana raffonei — Capula, 1987 Podarcis raffonei — Corti & Lo Cascio, 2002 Podarcis raffoneae — Michels & Bauer, 2005 Podarcis raffonei — Speybroeck & Crochet, 2007

Etymology

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.[2]

Habitat

The natural habitats of P. raffonei are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and rocky shores.[3]

Geographic range

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.[3]

Conservation status

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.[3]

References

1. Species Podarcis raffonei at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Podarcis raffoneae, p. 215).
3. Corti C, Pérez-Mellado V, Sindaco R, Romano A (2009). "Podarcis raffonei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61552A12514822. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61552A12514822.en.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

• Mertens R (1952) "Neue Eidechsenrassen von den Liparischen Inseln ". Senckenbergiana 32 (5/6): 309-314 + Plates 1–2. (Lacerta sicula raffonei, new subspecies, pp. 313–314 + Plate 2, figure 3). (in German).