Pontic Meadow Lizard
Darevskia pontica
A candidate meadow lizard from northwestern Georgia; rank versus praticola is open — colour is not enough.
Overview
What is Pontic Meadow Lizard
The Pontic meadow lizard (Darevskia pontica) is a candidate species in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. The praticola account splits Pontic populations from northwestern Georgia here. They are phenotypically diagnosable in some characters, but published discussions also note very small genetic differentiation and lack of demonstrated effective genetic isolation from D. praticola sensu lato; rank (species vs subspecies) remains inconsistent across sources and databases. This account lists no barcodes and no named village.
Last updated
Identification
How to identify Pontic Meadow Lizard
Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. The paper allows phenotypic diagnosis in some characters but does not demonstrate isolation.
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Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
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A Pontic meadow lizard; do not treat eastern/central D. praticola as the same by colour.
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Phenotypically diagnosable in some characters; genetic isolation is not demonstrated.
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This account gives no scalation list — do not guess a rock species by colour.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Pontic Meadow Lizard.
pontica here is the NW Pontic populations, a separate candidate. The paper notes very small genetic differentiation and no demonstrated isolation. Colour will not tell them apart.
Rank as species vs subspecies is inconsistent; effective genetic isolation from praticola sensu lato is not shown.
The praticola account: Pontic populations of northwestern Georgia. The pontica account names no village or barcode.
Site classification Harmless. No venom.
- 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.
