Dahl's Rock Lizard

Darevskia dahli

A parthenogenetic hybrid of D. mixta and D. portschinskii; colour is not enough for identification.

KojoriRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Kojori

Venom

None

Status

Biologically confirmed

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Dahl's Rock Lizard

Dahl’s rock lizard (Darevskia dahli) is a parthenogenetic hybrid form in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. The parental species are D. mixta and D. portschinskii. The mitochondrial genome is shared with D. mixta and parthenogenetic D. armeniaca — so high mtDNA similarity among the three is expected and is not a field colour mark. Barcode and figure are from Kojori. This is not D. armeniaca: that parthenogen’s parents are valentini and mixta, with a southern Georgian range.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Dahl's Rock Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Dahl's Rock Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Dahl's Rock Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. mtDNA matches D. armeniaca and D. mixta — that does not ID the species in the field.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
Parthenogen; parents D. mixta and D. portschinskii — not valentini (as in armeniaca).
03
Mitochondrial genome shared with mixta and armeniaca.
04
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Kojori).

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

Named place: Kojori (figure and barcode).

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Behavior

A parthenogenetic hybrid form. That does not separate it from other Darevskia by colour.

Conservation

Biologically confirmed in the checklist.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the most important questions about Dahl's Rock Lizard.

Colour will not tell you. armeniaca is another parthenogen (parents valentini and mixta; Ninotsminda/Saghamo). mixta and portschinskii are the parents; portschinskii is also barcoded from Kojori.

No. It is biologically confirmed in the checklist.

Figure and barcode — Kojori.

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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