Wall Lizards are very common, and not shy. They will often wander across the patio or run around on the wall while you sip your wine! The other six species are more difficult to see.
Wall Lizard
Common Wall Lizard - Podarcis muralis (French names - Lézard des Murailles ou Lézard gris). This acrobatic lizard seems to be everywhere in rural France, wherever there is a wall to climb! Their colour and patterning is extremely variable, but almost every lizard you see will be one of these – they can only be confused with the ‘Common Lizard’.
Common Lizard
Lacerta vivipara (Lézard Vivipare ) - although common in England this one is rarely seen in France. It is absent from most of the south-west and Mediterranean, although there is an unusual population near the Pyrenees. This Pyrenean group (maybe a sub-species?) seems to like water, and it lays eggs – it deposits its young in a soft membrane before they hatch, unlike northern ones which give birth to live young. These Pyrenean oddities separated from their relatives during the last ice age, and will probably be found to be genetically different when the research is done.
Green Lizard
Lacerta viridis (Lézard Vert) is big. First encounters will almost certainly be little more than a rustling in the undergrowth. Once located they can often be seen on a return trip to the same place a bit later, and a pair of binoculars are helpful (they are ‘shy’, well camouflaged, and extremely fast).
Ocellated Lizard
Lacerta lepida (Lézard ocellé) will only be encountered in southern France (to just north of Bordeaux). If the Green Lizard is big, then this one is enormous: up to 90cm in the Pyrenees, and it has even been known to eat young rabbits! If handled it will bite, and although it will probably not draw blood this can be quite painful. Young ones can be confused with other lizards, but there is no mistaking the adults – you will either be impressed or scared.
Sand Lizard
Lacerta agilis (Lézard Agile ou Lézard des Souches) is actually not agile at all, and it will only be encountered in the west or near the Mediterranean. This species is in severe decline throughout its range, largely as a result of habitat loss.
Psammadromas Lizard
Psammodromus algirus (Lézard des sacles) is only seen in Mediterranean France, and its ‘keeled’ scales give it an unusual appearance. It does not look ‘smooth’ like other lizards.
Slow Worm
Anguis fragilis (Orvet ou Serpent de verre), known in England as the Slow Worm, is remarkably snake-like. The only way to distinguish it from a snake is to look at the eyes. Like all lizards the Slow Worm has eyelids (snakes do not).
Reference: ‘Collins Field Guide – Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe’.
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