First record of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus on the island of Crete, Greece

ALEXIOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS; ALEXANDROS ZACHARIOU; EVANTHIA THANOU

The Herpetological Bulletin is a quarterly publication in English. It includes full-length papers, natural history notes, book reviews, and other items of general herpetological interest. Emphasis is placed on natural history and conservation as well as captive care that includes breeding, husbandry, veterinary, and behavioural aspects.

pdf 02. First record of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus on the island of Crete, Greece

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https://doi.org/10.33256/hb172.712

AUTHORS: ALEXIOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS, ALEXANDROS ZACHARIOU & EVANTHIA THANOU

ABSTRACT: The Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus is a species distributed in Italy and the east Adriatic coast. It is also a well-known invasive species introduced into four continents and many countries outside its native range. In 2014, an established population of this species was recorded in Athens, Greece, which was identified as Podarcis siculus campestris by molecular analysis. Here, we report for the first time the presence of another subspecies, Podarcis siculus siculus, in Greece and specifically on the island of Crete. Tissue samples from six adult and subadult lizards were analysed to reconstruct a mitochondrial phylogeny using a segment of cytochrome b and all published sequences of native and introduced populations of P. siculus. We identified the source-population of the Cretan P. siculus to be located in Sicily, while the Athenian population originated from the Adriatic coast. This indicates two independent introduction events in a period of < 10 years. The Cretan population of P. siculus seems to be well established and may pose a future threat to the endemic Cretan wall lizard Podarcis cretensis.