Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Unknown neighbour

  • Of the lizard species existing in the Basque Country, the mural lizard is the most common human eye. Sometimes it is brown, with a green dot on others, and usually has dark streaks or spots on both sides and on the back. Like all lizards, it has long fingers and a lightweight body protected from scales that helps you make quick movements with the help of the tail.
Horma-sugandila. Argazkia: Iñaki Sanz-Azkue.

06 November 2023 - 10:52

(photo: Iñaki Sanz Azkue)

Mural lizard (podarcis muralis)

Group: Vertebrate / Reptile

Size: About 7 cm without glue.

Where does he live? Forest, rocky, prairie and urban area.

What do you eat? Small invertebrates.

Level of protection: Sponsored in Europe.

 

Although common, one cannot speak of a known species. Despite the fact that lizards are often seen, we do not pay much attention to them, because neither the citizens, nor the researchers, have a hard time putting our eyes on what is not threatened. Maybe we'll look at them when the males start with the spring fights, or when the kid playing with them takes off the tail and watches how it moves once separated from the body, but -- do we know the mural lizard?

The mural lizard, as its name suggests, likes its walls, so it is the most visible of our houses, houses or nearby walls. It can also be observed in the forest light points, in the slopes, between the wood or at the edges of the field. The head is flattened, but with the unpointed end, large enough to penetrate the cracks. Mural lizard, look for a hideaway in the holes and food in the surroundings. It's a big bug.

Like all reptiles, it needs heat to warm the body and start the day. In this way, you can receive this heat from the sun, and to do so, we will find the first rays of the day flattened, as soon as possible, to heat it as soon as possible. Being an ectoterm, this heat will help you activate the body and from that moment on you will start hunting for food to strengthen it and cope with the spring breeding season.

In spring, males want to take the best place. A sunny place with shelters to escape the dams, but at the same time rich in food. Therefore, it is not surprising that you see fights between them, biting among them, who will achieve the best place. Eggs shall be placed with dry cracks of old walls or under stones and logs. In this way, very small bounces will remain unwet, but with the minimum humidity needed. From it will emerge very small lizards, independent reptiles who no longer need parents.

The lizard is a visible species in the countries of southern Europe. In the Mediterranean area, it must rise in height to find the necessary conditions. Thus, it is not surprising that in many places of the Iberian Peninsula there is only a mural lizard in high mountains.

Although it is a common species, we must look with interest. Protected at European level, but little studied. And it's that while we treat endangered species, the situation of the most common species is often unknown. So every time you see a lizard on the wall of the house, remember that this species deserves a look, an observation of a second, a sicary, to believe that it is part of our environment.


You are interested in the channel: A ze fauna!
2024-12-23 | Irati Diez Virto
I'm not a mouse, I'm not a topo; I'm a mousetrap.
When you hear the word mammal, often the first representatives that come to mind are the biggest ones: the bear, the wolf, the deer… Sometimes the first ones to appear are the domesticated cat or the dog, or distant lions and elephants. Spectacularity usually gains competition... [+]

Gold in the head, most in aquaculture
There are several species that seem forced to always remain in the fishmongers. A fish among them has a special glow, because it looks at us with a golden crown: golden (also in Spanish, obeying the same characteristic, golden). Along with them there is a lot that look like... [+]

Forest hunter
It's at night. The moonlight passes through the few leaves left in the trees. Silence is absolute. Birds sleep between weeds, protected, asleep. But suddenly something hit his stomach. Most birds have been frightened, but they've been freezing, silently. The fool, terrified, flies... [+]

Marbled Coat Pin
Tourist not invited
It was first seen in 2016 in the Catalan countries. Two years later, in 2018, entomologists Xanti Pagola and Imanol Zabalegui announced their presence in Gipuzkoa. And also name it in Basque! A few years have passed and I will not say that we have become accustomed to seeing... [+]

2024-11-25 | Iñaki Sanz-Azkue
A lizard “where there is nothing”
Lately there's a lot of talk about the forest. You will often hear about the recovery of forests, the creation of forests and the extension of forests. And it can be a good action, certainly, because its value as an ecosystem is high. But in that attention and strength that we... [+]

2024-11-18 | Nagore Zaldua
Gentleman, dancer or guardor, an invisible treasure
These animals, considered by the ancient Greeks and Romans as mythological beings, having been born and grown at the bottom of the sea, by reaching the size of the earth horses, would have been pulled from the Neptune chariot. They saw them far away, skipping over the peaks of... [+]

2024-11-11 | Irati Diez Virto
Tireless marine giant
The forests change color, the wind cools down and the days shorten. Winter comes and it appears on dry land and also on the sea. Migrant animals start their way south, and as the crane flies through the sky, the sky flows through the sea, swimming in more temperate waters.

European sardine
Unlimited but not unlimited
Two sardines were found... In the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean, in the Pacific… At night, at 25-55 meters deep; day, up to 100 meters, to protect yourself from predators.

European tortola
Protagonist of the time of pass
A Ürx’aphal is a trixte in the village that is made in Nigarrez by the alley, With his sweetheart Lagün: Kill them, hell.

Eternity of a moment
In this section we have mentioned on several occasions that in the world of small beings, as in our own, appearance leads us to get worse many times. And the friend we bring today is a clear example of this, because few animals look weaker or more vulnerable on Earth. In... [+]

2024-10-14 | Iñaki Sanz-Azkue
Corner trident
Four small legs for a quick body
We will take two photos to our memory: one will take us to the Bardenas of Navarra. There, next to a dusty runway, we'll find a small field of high grass. The photo shows a young herpetologist walking into it: avizor eye, what to see. But more than seeing, it perceives movements... [+]

Jabirón
The sting, which is not jellyfish
This summer we haven't seen too many jellyfish on our beaches. But hundreds of people have been served in the Cantabrian posts, from Galicia to the Basque Country. Jellyfish? No. Portuguese Carabelas then? Neither. On this occasion, fish stingers have been the nightmare of many... [+]

2024-09-30 | Irati Diez Virto
Is it a deer or a deer?
Surely a naturalist would have been able to read and think about this question: “Ask too! They have nothing to do with it!” It is true that, once known, the deer and the corzo are easily differentiated. But for some it's not easy to see this animal in the mountain and answer... [+]

2024-09-23 | Nagore Zaldua
Goodbye, J.
What fauna! In the first season of chapter IV, I've presented several waves of seafarers from the outboard of the trainee in this corner. However, I would like to use my first article from the second season to pay tribute to a friend and underline the importance of his work:... [+]

Common antzandobi
Campino head
It's a heady bird, but not because it's stubborn, but because it physically has a big head. That is why this bird is known, many of the names used in Euskera refer to its big eye and head: head, gigantic, begihandi, yawning… Instead, the common name is Antzandobi (Lanius... [+]

Eguneraketa berriak daude