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Here are a few pictures that I took on Krk island of some wall lizards. Could you please cast your experienced eyes over them and tell me if they are P siculus and/or P melisellensis, the first 2 are near Ponkive dam and the rest are nearer the coast.

I'm going to make a sloppy guess, so Mario can tell me what's what
First one melisellensis, the rest siculus ?????

For me all are siculus.

but as Jeroen said, we have to wait for Mario.

I second all siculus and third to defer to Mario

I think they are all siculus

Would agree, all are siculus.

So - here I am
All are Italian wall lizards!

Mario

Thanks everybody for your help, what were the deciding factors in your answer?

Kevin Byrnes wrote:Thanks everybody for your help, what were the deciding factors in your answer?

No single character does the trick, but this is what I compiled from discussions with Mario (!) and books:
* siculus never with 2 blue ventrolateral scales next to each other
* masseteric scale usually larger in melisellensis, often touching supratemporals
* smaller, smoother dorsal scales in melisellensis => glossy outlook
* pale dorsolateral (or ciliar) lines well-developed in melisellensis
* vertebral (or mid-dorsal) row of blotches or line, usually narrower & shorter in melisellensis, not reaching neck
* lower surface of siculus usually green or white and without spotted <=> can be yellow, orange, red in melisellensis
* snout melisellensis more blunt

meli


? bit less typical meli


sicu

* siculus never with 2 blue ventrolateral scales next to each other

"Next to each other" doesn't count, that is, a particular arrangement of blue scales
in the row doesn't count.
"Werner's rule" is more general and more precise:

siculus: percentage of blue scales less than (or at most equal to) 1/2 = 50%
melisellensis: percentage of blue scales greater than (or at least equal to) 2/3 = 66.7%

Or, in other words,

siculus: at most 1/2 of them blue
melisellensis: at most 1/3 of them NOT blue

Here is a siculus with two blue scales next to each other, but satisfying the rule:


And, yes, the rule should apply to males only.