Brauner's Rock Lizard
Darevskia brauneri
A candidate rock lizard in the D. saxicola complex; the Ertso population is a subspecies, not a separate species — colour is not enough.
Overview
What is Brauner's Rock Lizard
Brauner’s rock lizard (Darevskia brauneri) is a candidate species in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026, in the Darevskia (saxicola) complex. Species status is widely accepted, but it is unclear how far stepped genetic and phenotypic clines separate it from D. saxicola or D. szczerbaki. Mitochondrial haplogroups from some Georgian populations of nominal D. brauneri are closer to North Caucasian D. saxicola than to formally conspecific populations. Distribution is restricted to the western and central Greater Caucasus. D. arribasi from near Ertso Lake is treated here as D. b. arribasi: diagnostic scalation and morphometrics fall within variation of western Caucasian brauneri and of Enguri and Tekhuri basin populations, and mtDNA divergence is on a ≈2% scale. Subspecies D. b. myusserica occurs locally in northwestern Georgia.
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Identification
How to identify Brauner's Rock Lizard
Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Scalation reported for “arribasi” at Ertso falls within brauneri variation in the paper.
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
saxicola complex; scalation clines versus D. saxicola / D. szczerbaki are unclear.
D. arribasi (Ertso) is a subspecies here: diagnostic scalation is within brauneri variation.
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Mestia, Manshura).
Ertso “arribasi” is a subspecies in the paper, not a separate species; colour is not enough.
Quiz
Next: which lizard is it?
Brauner's Rock Lizard is in the Georgia lizard quiz. Ten field photos, four names — eye practice, not field ID.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Brauner's Rock Lizard.
The paper keeps the Ertso population as D. b. arribasi, not a separate species. D. saxicola is North Caucasian; some Georgian brauneri mtDNA is closer to it. Colour will not tell them apart.
Contact zones in the saxicola complex are insufficiently tested; species rank is widely accepted but gene flow is not ruled out.
Western and central Greater Caucasus. Figure: Mestia, Manshura; barcodes: Martvili and Manshura; also Ertso Lake, Enguri, Tekhuri. Abkhazia is not named in the remark; D. b. myusserica is listed from northwestern Georgia.
Site classification Harmless. No venom.
Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Scalation reported for “arribasi” at Ertso falls within brauneri variation in the paper.
The paper does not specify diet for this species.
References
Sources
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
Continue with related pages
Lizard species
Every lizard in the index — Darevskia in its own block. An empty cell is a missing source.
IndexQuizWhich lizard is it?
A photo, four names, instant feedback — Georgia’s lizard catalog. This is not the field guide.
Start the quizRock lizardsDarevskia one by one
Colour is not identification. Each species opens its own profile.
Darevskia guideIDWhat lizard is this?
Photo, size, colour, range. For Darevskia, colour is not enough.
ID guide
Darevskia derjugini
Derjugin's Lizard
Western Georgia and the forest belt of eastern Georgia
Darevskia obscura
Obscure Rock Lizard
Upper Mtkvari, Trialeti, Meskheti, Javakheti, Enguri — Akhaltsikhe, Rveli/Baniskhevi, Akhalkalaki
Darevskia adjarica
Ajarian Rock Lizard
Adjara (Shuakhevi) and Abastumani
Darevskia armeniaca
Armenian Rock Lizard
Southern Georgia — Ninotsminda (Saghamo), Akhalkalaki