5184 x 3456 px | 43,9 x 29,3 cm | 17,3 x 11,5 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
14 juillet 2011
Lieu:
Amalfi Italy
Informations supplémentaires:
The European Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a large lizard distributed across mid European latitudes from the north of the Iberian peninsula to as far east as Ukraine. It is often to be seen sunning itself on rocks or lawns, or sheltering amongst bushes. The female is more slender than the male and has a more uniform coloration, often displaying between two and four light bands bordered by black spots. It feeds on insects, small lizards and even mice. In springtime the female lays 6 to 20 eggs. About 2 to 3 months later brown-coloured young appear with a length of 3-4 cm. The lizard reaches up to 13 cm (approximately 5 inches) in length from the tip of the muzzle to the cloaca. The tail can be up to twice the length of the body. This lizard sheds its tail (autonomy), to evade the grasp of a predator. Males have a larger head and a uniform green colouring punctuated with small spots that are more pronounced upon its back. The throat is bluish in the adult males and to a lesser extent in the females. In 1991, scientists divided the former one species of green lizards into two, a Western Green Lizard (Lacerta bilineata) and an Eastern Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis). There are however only very slight morphological differences and it could well bet hat further studies might show that they indeed are only one species and revert their nomenclature again to the previous situation. As all lizards (and geckos) also the green lizard can actively lose its tail in dangerous situations, i.e. when threatened by a predator like a marten, a weasel a bird of prey or a house cat. This is called “autotomy”. Beginning with the sixth, each tail-vertebra of the green lizard has a pre-prepared site of fracture. By a strong and sudden contraction of the circular tail musculature it can separate itself from a bigger or a smaller portion of the tail as need arises. Due to the still functioning autonomous nervous system of the tail fragment the detached body part does.
