Mixed Rock Lizard
Darevskia mixta
A harmless rock lizard of western humid forest gorges. Absent from Adjara; colour is not enough.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Habitat
Humid forest gorge
Size
SVL ~5–6 cm
Activity
Diurnal
Venom
None — harmless
Conservation
Near Threatened (NT)
Checklist
Confirmed
Family
Lacertidae
Human interaction: It is not venomous and poses no medical risk. If handled it may bite; the tail may break. Leave it where it is. Do not keep wild animals.
Overview
What is Mixed Rock Lizard
The mixed rock lizard (Darevskia mixta) occurs in Georgia as a harmless rock lizard of humid western forest gorges, but not in Adjara. It belongs to the true lizards (Lacertidae). It has no venom and is not dangerous to people. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed, not as a candidate. The type locality is Abastumani. Snout–vent length is often about 5–6 cm. IUCN lists it as Near Threatened. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. Do not assume it throughout the country: named modern points are Sairme, Tchkhorotskhu and Baniskhevi. This atlas map marks Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Imereti and Samtskhe — Javakheti from those records; it does not mean the species is limited to three points. English names include Ajarian lizard and mixed rock lizard; the checklist prefers Georgian lizard because the species is absent from Adjara.
Last updated
Identification
How to identify Mixed Rock Lizard
A small rock lizard of western humid gorges. Colour is not enough. Field ID needs scalation, size and range. It is absent from Adjara.
It lives on rock and stone, not as a ground forest lizard. Snout–vent length is often about 4.9–6.3 cm (Darevsky 1967; Gabelaia et al. 2015). Breeding males often have an emerald-green back and dark flanks. That is typical appearance and does not separate species by colour.
A nearly diagnostic trait is one large scale (the post-central temporal, PCT) between the central temporal scale and the ear (tympanal) scale. Preanal plates are often paired; an unpaired preanal is more common in Greater Caucasus animals. Do not pick the lizard up to count scales. Rarely D. caucasica can show a similar PCT — scalation alone is not enough in a contact zone.
Clark's rock lizard (D. clarkorum) is the closest relative but is geographically isolated — in the southwest, e.g. the Charnali Gorge; the Adjara candidate adjarica is in the parvula complex at Shuakhevi. mixta is absent from Adjara. It has a narrow contact zone with the Caucasian lizard (D. caucasica) in the Greater Caucasus; mtDNA is close — colour will not tell them apart.
Derjugin’s lizard (D. derjugini) may occur in the same gorge but lives on the ground in forest, with a less flattened head — not on a rock face. mixta was once treated as a hybrid of derjugini and saxicola; it is now a separate species. Samegrelo also has other rock lizards (e.g. D. brauneri); colour will not separate those either. Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Sairme).
The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed, not as a candidate. It is endemic to western Georgia excluding Adjara. Named modern points are Sairme, Tchkhorotskhu and Baniskhevi. mixta is absent from Adjara. Clark's rock lizard (D. clarkorum) is geographically isolated — in the southwest, e.g. the Charnali valley.
Darevskia adjarica
Ajarian Rock Lizard
Adjara (Shuakhevi) and Abastumani
Darevskia armeniaca
Armenian Rock Lizard
Southern Georgia — Ninotsminda (Saghamo), Akhalkalaki
Darevskia caucasica
Caucasian Rock Lizard
Truso Valley (Zakagori); Tbatana, Lebarde
Darevskia clarkorum
Clark's Rock Lizard
Adjara — Charnali Gorge (Khelvachauri)
Darevskia dahli
Dahl's Rock Lizard
Trialeti — Kojori
Darevskia derjugini
Derjugin's Lizard
Western Georgia and the forest belt of eastern Georgia
Darevskia brauneri
Brauner's Rock Lizard
Western and central Greater Caucasus — Mestia (Manshura), Martvili, Ertso Lake
Quiz
Next: which lizard is it?
Mixed 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
It occurs in Georgia. Do not assume it in Adjara, the Colchis lowlands, or the dry eastern plains. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 figure a specimen from Sairme; COI barcodes are from Sairme and Tchkhorotskhu; a Baniskhevi sequence is named in the account. Distribution confidence is medium. Gabelaia and co-authors (2015) place the range in the eastern Meskheti Range and on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus between the Rioni and Khobi valleys; their 26 named sites include the Zekari Pass, Borjomi Gorge, the Rioni valley and the Samegrelo Range. They did not find it in the lowlands or below about 250–280 m. Habitat is humid forest gorge with rock and stone used for basking and shelter — not open dry steppe. Humidity and temperature in the microhabitat matter; it avoids dry or overly warm sites (Tarkhnishvili 2012). Repeated surveys of the Likhi Range did not confirm it, though another rock lizard (D. obscura / rudis s.l.) occurs there. Surveys in Adjara and west of the Abastumani Gorge in Gabelaia et al. 2015 also failed to confirm it. A single old Giresun (Turkey) specimen is treated as a likely misidentification; later reports without exact sites are not treated as confirmed on this page. This atlas does not currently map other administrative regions; that does not mean every suitable gorge has been surveyed.
Diet
This page has no Georgian stomach-content study for the species. As a rock lizard it is expected to take small invertebrates, but the menu is not measured here. It has no venom; prey is seized in the mouth.
Behavior
It is active by day. It is a rock lizard: it basks on stones, hides in crevices and is territorial. A Georgian hourly or seasonal calendar is not on this page. It lays eggs. It is the matrilineal ancestor of the parthenogens Armenian rock lizard (D. armeniaca) and Dahl’s lizard (D. dahli); those are different taxa and are more likely in southern or eastern Georgia, not automatically in the same western gorge. If grabbed, the tail may break and the lizard may bite. Watch it and leave it where it is. Do not pick it up.
Conservation
IUCN assessed it as Near Threatened in 2009 (Tuniyev and co-authors). That assessment is old; the range is narrow and tied to humid forest gorges. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Resolution No. 190). Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 treat it as biologically confirmed. A Georgian population trend is not measured here. It is not listed on CITES. Do not take wild lizards.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Mixed Rock Lizard.
Yes. It is biologically confirmed in the 2026 checklist. It is endemic to western Georgia, excluding Adjara. Figure: Sairme. Barcodes: Sairme and Tchkhorotskhu; also Baniskhevi.
In humid forest gorges on rock and stone — eastern Meskheti Range, Borjomi Gorge, and the southern Greater Caucasus slope between the Rioni and Khobi. Named points include Sairme, Tchkhorotskhu, Baniskhevi and Abastumani. Do not look in Adjara, the lowlands or the Likhi Range.
It is a small rock lizard. Males often have a green back and dark flanks. Colour is not enough. Range and one large scale between the temple and the ear plate are more reliable. Compare it with clarkorum in Adjara, caucasica in the Greater Caucasus, and ground-dwelling derjugini.
No. It has no venom. If grabbed it may bite; the tail may break. Leave it where it is.
Snout–vent length is often about 5–6 cm (about 4.9–6.3 cm in the literature). Total length including the tail is not measured on this page.
No. mixta is absent from Adjara. adjarica is a candidate in the parvula complex at Shuakhevi. The English name Ajarian lizard is misleading; the checklist prefers Georgian lizard.
No. It is biologically confirmed in the checklist. It was once treated as a hybrid; it is now a species with a narrow contact zone with caucasica.
By day. A full Georgian seasonal calendar is not on this page. In humid gorges it is expected in the warm season.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Gabelaia, Tarkhnishvili & Murtskhvaladze 2015 — Phylogeography of Darevskia mixta
- Tarkhnishvili 2012 — Evolutionary history and habitats of Caucasian rock lizards
- Tarkhnishvili & Iankoshvili 2023 — Geographic proximity and niche overlap in Caucasian rock lizards
- Murphy et al. 2000 — Phylogenetic constraints on parthenogenesis in lacertid lizards
- Darevsky 1967 — Rock lizards of the Caucasus
- Tuniyev et al. 2009 — IUCN Red List, Darevskia mixta
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- The Reptile Database — Darevskia mixta
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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