Obscure Rock Lizard

Darevskia obscura

A candidate in the D. rudis complex; all Georgian rudis s.l. are obscura here — colour is not enough.

Upper Mtkvari, Trialeti, Meskheti, Javakheti, Enguri — Akhaltsikhe, Rveli/Baniskhevi, AkhalkalakiRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Upper Mtkvari / Caucasus

Venom

None

Status

Candidate

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Obscure Rock Lizard

The obscure rock lizard (Darevskia obscura) is a candidate species in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. It was elevated from the D. rudis complex mainly on a mitochondrial lineage separating Caucasus/Georgia populations from Anatolian D. rudis. On that logic all Georgian D. rudis s.l., including chechenica and svanetica, belong to obscura, not D. rudis s. str. Current species status rests solely on mtDNA, without morphology or nuclear genome; there is no evidence for or against gene flow across a contact zone with D. rudis. A hybrid zone with portschinskii is in the Tana River valley; with valentini there is a narrow contact and broad introgression. Subspecies (paper infra): obscura — upper Mtkvari, western Trialeti, eastern Meskheti; macromaculata — western Javakheti Plateau; bischoffi — southwestern Georgia; chechenica — eastern Greater Caucasus (east of the Enguri); svanetica — western Greater Caucasus (e.g. upper Enguri basin).

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Obscure Rock Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Obscure Rock Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Obscure Rock Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Paper status is mtDNA-based, not colour; portschinskii is substantially smaller.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
Georgian rudis s.l. is obscura here; Anatolian D. rudis is a different taxon.
03
Hybrid zone with portschinskii in the Tana valley; introgression with valentini.
04
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Akhaltsikhe/Meskheti; Rveli/Baniskhevi).

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

Named places: Akhaltsikhe district, Meskheti Range (figure); Rveli, Baniskhevi Gorge (figure); Akhalkalaki, Saaghdgomo Mt. (barcode); Borjomi Gorge (description locality / sequence). Infra names Trialeti, Meskheti, the Javakheti Plateau, and the Enguri.

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Conservation

Candidate species in the checklist. Status may need revision.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

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

Georgian rudis s.l. is obscura in the paper. portschinskii is substantially smaller and hybridises in the Tana valley. valentini is phenotypically distinct but introgression is broad. Colour will not tell them apart.

Elevation from rudis rests on mtDNA only; gene flow across a contact zone is neither shown nor ruled out.

Figures: Akhaltsikhe/Meskheti Range and Rveli, Baniskhevi. Barcode: Akhalkalaki, Saaghdgomo. Description: Borjomi Gorge. Infra: Trialeti, Meskheti, Javakheti Plateau, Enguri.

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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