Alpine Rock Lizard

Darevskia alpina

A candidate rock lizard; the paper account is short and names no Georgian locality — colour is not enough for identification.

GeorgiaRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Venom

None

Status

Candidate

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Alpine Rock Lizard

The alpine rock lizard (Darevskia alpina) is a candidate species on the Georgian checklist. The taxonomic remark in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 is short: it may be a hybrid species between the “caucasica” and “saxicola” complexes (Murphy 2000; Tarkhnishvili 2012). The account lists no Georgian records, barcodes, or named locality. The Georgian common name points to Abkhazia, but the paper remark does not say so — that is not filled in here.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Alpine Rock Lizard in photos

Identification

How to identify Alpine Rock Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. The paper gives no diagnostic field marks for this taxon.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
May be a hybrid between the caucasica and saxicola complexes.
03
The account names neither scalation nor colour characters — do not guess another rock lizard by colour.

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Conservation

Candidate species in the checklist. A possible hybrid origin leaves species rank in need of further evidence.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the most important questions about Alpine Rock Lizard.

Colour will not tell you. The paper treats alpina as a possible hybrid between the caucasica and saxicola complexes; brauneri is in the saxicola complex but is a different taxon.

The checklist treats it as a candidate. The account allows a hybrid origin and does not demonstrate isolation.

The species account gives no Georgian locality, barcode, or records list. Abkhazia is not mentioned in the remark.

Site classification Harmless. No venom.

References

Sources

Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
Iankoshvili & Tarkhnishvili 2021 — Georgian herpetofauna records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
The Reptile Database

Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.

Related guides