walking on the water

[marco rinaldi]

Ciao everybody I found some pictures on my computer:

The most curious picture is a lizard standing and walking on acquatic weeds in a swamp to eat the thousands of flyes and insects (May 2009 in Persano swamp area),

Unfortunately she was not alone:

I think could be a Natrix (May2009 in Persano swamp area)

Podarcis escaped the Natrix attack and went on the ground!

Finally there is another snake under my balcony in the cactus garden pursuing another Podarcis (October 2009)

Is it a Hierophis viridiflavus vs Podarcis sicula????

[Mario Schweiger]

Hello Marco,

1) hard to say - but it might be a Natrix tessellata (head proportions, nearly uniform, dark color).
2) a very interesting shot: the Podarcis walking on the Lemna carpet.
3) yes, its a young Hierophis viridiflavus and must be a Podarcis s. siculus. Podarcis muralis, in Campania occours only in elevations more than about 1´000 meters.

Mario

[marco rinaldi]

Thanks Mario for the ready comment, I did not know about P. muralis occuring atmore than 1000 mt, interesting informations.
So all the thousands lizards in my garden are P. siculus siculus also if they look so different from each one.
My garden is full of Hierophis breeding so fast a and posing a problem for the lizard population that is suffering.I think all the snakes came in my garden because there are rocks and crevices in a zone of plat peach orchards.
Thanks a lot

[Mario Schweiger]

The main distribution on Italy peninsula ends about at the border of Lazio to Campania (Roccomonfonia [41]).
In the south (San Fili [42], Monte Oliveto [43], Monte Aspromonte [44] and Monte Gargano [45]) Podarcis muralis in a mountain species (see map).
This depends on the change from Podarcis s. campestris (campo = meadow) to the nominate race Podarcis s. siculus.
While P. s. campestris is more a "meadow species" and doesn´t climb very well, the nominate race is a very good rock climber, much larger and stronger than the Wall lizard and displaces P. muralis to higher elevations, where its to cool for Podarcis siculus.

Distribution of Podarcis muralis on the Italian peninsula

So your thousands of lizards look so different is, because there the is the color/markings transition zone from campestris to siculus, although these are genetical true siculus.

Mario

[Jürgen Gebhart]

Interesting shots!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[Mario Schweiger]

Some remarks on the distribution of Podarcis muralis on Balkan peninsula (on map above).

Thassos [66] is definitively wrong - the only Podarcis species on the island is Podarcis tauricus.
The record Athens [62] belongs to Boulenger. But it is Podarcis erhardii livadiacus.

Mario