Armenian Rock Lizard

Darevskia armeniaca

A parthenogenetic rock lizard with a small southern Georgian range; colour is not enough for identification.

Southern Georgia — Ninotsminda (Saghamo), AkhalkalakiRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Southern Georgia

Venom

None

Status

Conventional species

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Armenian Rock Lizard

The Armenian rock lizard (Darevskia armeniaca) has conventional species status in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. It is a parthenogenetic form, supposedly a hybrid between males of D. valentini and females of D. mixta, or a backcross between D. valentini and another parthenogen. The range in southern Georgia is small, with no remarkable differences among populations noted in the account. A barcode is from Akhalkalaki; the figure is from Ninotsminda district, Saghamo Lake. The mitochondrial genome is shared with D. mixta and parthenogenetic D. dahli.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Armenian Rock Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Armenian Rock Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Armenian Rock Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. This is a parthenogen with a small southern Georgian range — not D. valentini or D. dahli by colour.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
Parthenogenetic; parents D. valentini and D. mixta (or a backcross).
03
mtDNA matches D. mixta and D. dahli — barcodes are not a field colour mark.
04
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates.

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

The paper places a small range in southern Georgia. Named places: Ninotsminda, Saghamo Lake (figure); Akhalkalaki (barcode).

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Behavior

A parthenogenetic form — it reproduces without males. That does not separate it from other Darevskia by colour.

Conservation

Conventional species status in the checklist; listed as biologically confirmed.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

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

Colour will not tell you. valentini is a parental species and is figured at the same Saghamo Lake; dahli is another parthenogen (parents mixta and portschinskii), named at Kojori in the paper.

No. The paper gives conventional species status.

A small range in southern Georgia. Figure: Ninotsminda, Saghamo Lake; barcode: Akhalkalaki.

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.

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