Daghestanian Rock Lizard
Darevskia daghestanica
A harmless rock lizard of north-eastern Georgia's mountains. Colour will not separate it from the Caucasian rock lizard.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Habitat
Tusheti / Tbatana
Length
SVL ~4.4–5.8 cm
Venom
None — harmless
Conservation
IUCN LC
Checklist
Confirmed
Family
Lacertidae
Human interaction: It has no venom and is not dangerous to people. Do not pick it up: the tail breaks easily and handling stresses the animal. Photograph the back, the flank, and the head scales, note the place and elevation, and leave the lizard where it is. Colour does not confirm the species — especially in Tusheti and near Tbatana, where D. caucasica is also named.
Overview
What is Daghestanian Rock Lizard
The Daghestanian rock lizard (Darevskia daghestanica) is a harmless rock lizard confirmed in the mountains of north-eastern Georgia. It belongs to the true lizards (Lacertidae). It has no venom and is not dangerous to people. Head–body length in the literature is about 4.4–5.8 cm; the tail is often longer than the body. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats the species as biologically confirmed. Named modern points are Tusheti (barcode) and Akhmeta municipality, Tbatana Mountain (figure). Do not look for it across the whole country: it is not expected on western or southern lowlands. It was often treated as a sister species or subspecies of the Caucasian rock lizard (Darevskia caucasica); it is kept as a separate species.
Last updated
Identification
How to identify Daghestanian Rock Lizard
A small saxicolous Darevskia with a relatively flattened head. In Georgia it is a north-eastern mountain lizard; colour will not separate it from D. caucasica.
The body is slim and flattened, the head relatively narrow and flat, the hind legs long — characters Roitberg used in the contact zone with D. caucasica, not a one-glance photo ID. Dorsal scales are smooth or weakly convex. The Tbatana figures show head scalation and preanal plates; that detail is often invisible in a field snapshot.
The back is often brownish-grey, yellowish-brown, or ashy. A vertebral mark may be two parallel rows of dark specks or a reticulate pattern; sometimes it is faint or absent. Light lateral stripes often stop short of the parietal shields — a character in classical keys, not a guarantee for every individual. Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
It is a small lizard. The lectotype has a 49 mm snout–vent length (Dagestan, Levashi; Doronin 2014). Breeding females in intra-mountain Dagestan measured 43.95–56.20 mm. The tail is often longer than the body; the lectotype tail is damaged and does not give a full length. A measured Georgian series is not published here.
The Caucasian rock lizard (D. caucasica) has a contiguous range on the upper Tergi and is also named at Tbatana. Colour will not tell them apart. D. caucasica often has clearer lateral stripes; in contact, D. daghestanica tends to have more scales around midbody, more ventrals, more femoral pores, and a narrower, flatter head. In the field the safer split is place: Tusheti is named for daghestanica, Truso/Zakagori for caucasica. Derjugin's lizard (D. derjugini) is in the same genus but is a ground-dwelling forest species, not a cliff lizard. The Adjarian rock lizard (D. mixta) belongs to western and central contact zones, not as a Tusheti substitute.
The 2026 Georgian checklist treats the species as biologically confirmed. Named modern points are Tusheti (barcode) and Akhmeta municipality, Tbatana Mountain (figure). Do not look for it across the whole country: it is not expected on western or southern lowlands. Colour does not separate it from the Caucasian rock lizard (D. caucasica); in the field the safer difference is locality.
Quiz
Next: which lizard is it?
Daghestanian Rock Lizard is in the Georgia lizard quiz. Ten field photos, four names — eye practice, not field ID.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
Two modern Georgian points are named. In Tarkhnishvili and co-authors (2026) a barcode is from Tusheti; the scalation figure is from Akhmeta municipality, Tbatana Mountain. Both are in the mountains of Kakheti. On this atlas map Kakheti reflects those records; it does not mean the species occurs on the Alazani plain or in Kakheti's dry lowlands. Darevsky (1967) and Doronin (2015, 2022) place it on montane rocky, moderately dry ground: cliffs, slopes, and river gorges. The main range is the northern macroslope of the Greater Caucasus from Dagestan to the Darial Gorge in North Ossetia; it enters Tusheti and Azerbaijan to the south. In 1963 Darevsky described an isolated population in the Greater Liakhvi gorge above Java (Dzau), on the road toward the Roki Pass; Doronin and co-authors (2022) confirmed that population in 2021. That isolate is a south-western locality, not a reason to map all of Shida Kartli, so it is not expanded on the map. The 2026 discussion names a contiguous range with D. caucasica on the upper Tergi (Terek), where hybridization is possible — a contact-zone note, not a complete list of villages. Elevation for the caucasica complex in the literature is about 500–3200 m; a measured range for Georgian populations is not published here. Occasional records come from forest without rock outcrops; look first on rock or stone.
Diet
Stomach contents from Georgia have not been published for this species. Caucasian rock lizards in Darevsky's account feed mainly on small invertebrates — spiders, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, ants. The same is expected here, but a Georgian diet has not been measured.
Behavior
A day-active rock lizard. The body is flattened, which helps it enter crevices. Tarkhnishvili and co-authors (2020) treat it as mainly saxicolous but also found away from rocks. Doronin and co-authors (2021) describe a forest site without rocky outcrops. No separate hourly or seasonal calendar has been published for Georgia. It lays eggs. In intra-mountain Dagestan (Kidov and co-authors 2024) breeding females were taken in mid-to-late May; eggs were laid from late May to mid-June, clutch size 1–5, artificial incubation 36–51 days. That is a Dagestan measurement, not a Tusheti calendar. The tail can be shed — a short or regenerated tail does not change the species.
Conservation
IUCN listed the species as Least Concern in 2009 (assessment 2008): the population is presumed large and not declining fast enough for a higher category. That is a global status. It is not on Georgia's 2014 Red List (Resolution No. 190); among Darevskia that list includes Clark's, Dahl's, and the Adjarian rock lizards. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed; distribution confidence is medium. Deep genetic differences among populations are described; the checklist does not apply infraspecific names. The Liakhvi isolate is narrow — local pressure there could differ, but there is no separate national assessment. Do not collect animals.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Daghestanian Rock Lizard.
Yes. The 2026 checklist treats the species as biologically confirmed. That does not mean it occurs throughout the country.
Named modern points are Tusheti and Akhmeta municipality (Tbatana Mountain). A separate isolated population is described in the Greater Liakhvi gorge above Java. Do not look on western or southern lowlands.
No. It has no venom. Do not pick it up — the tail breaks easily.
Colour will not tell you. Use locality and, if possible, scalation. Tusheti is named for this species; Truso for D. caucasica. Near Tbatana either may occur.
It is a small lizard. Head–body length in the literature is about 4.4–5.8 cm. A Georgian series is not measured here.
Small invertebrates are expected. Stomach contents from Georgia have not been published.
No. It is not on the 2014 national Red List. Globally IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Darevsky 1967 — Скальные ящерицы Кавказа
- Doronin 2014 — Review of type specimens of Darevskia (caucasica)
- Doronin et al. 2021 — Phylogeography of the Darevskia (caucasica) complex
- Doronin et al. 2022 — New records of Darevskia in the Caucasus
- Roitberg 1994 — Morphological analysis of L. caucasica and L. c. daghestanica in the contact zone
- Tarkhnishvili, Gabelaia & Adriaens 2020 — Phenotypic divergence in Caucasian rock lizards
- Kidov et al. 2024 — Reproduction of Darevskia daghestanica in Intra-Mountain Dagestan
- Tuniyev et al. 2009 — IUCN Red List, Darevskia daghestanica
- Tuniyev & Ananjeva 2024 — High herpetological diversity in the Caucasian Ecoregion
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- 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 praticola
Meadow Lizard
Eastern and central Georgia — Sioni, Tushurebi
Darevskia adjarica
Ajarian Rock Lizard
Adjara (Shuakhevi) and Abastumani
Darevskia alpina
Alpine Rock Lizard
Western Greater Caucasus — literature; no named locality in the checklist
Darevskia armeniaca
Armenian Rock Lizard
Southern Georgia — Ninotsminda (Saghamo), Akhalkalaki