Portschinsky's Lizard

Darevskia portschinskii

A Lesser Caucasus endemic, substantially smaller than obscura/valentini; colour is not enough.

Central Lesser Caucasus — Kojori; hybrid zone in the Tana valleyRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Central Lesser Caucasus

Venom

None

Status

Biologically confirmed

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Portschinsky's Lizard

Portschinsky’s lizard (Darevskia portschinskii) is biologically confirmed in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. It is closely related to D. rudis, D. obscura, and D. valentini, but is substantially smaller and forms a narrow contact zone with all three. A hybrid zone with D. obscura is present in the Tana River valley. It is endemic to the central Lesser Caucasus. A barcode is from Kojori — dahli is also barcoded there; that is a different taxon. Subspecies: D. p. portschinskii and D. p. nigrita.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Portschinsky's Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Portschinsky's Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Portschinsky's Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Paper diagnosis: substantially smaller than obscura, valentini, and rudis.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
Substantially smaller than obscura / valentini / rudis — that is a paper character, not colour.
03
Narrow contact with all three; hybrid zone with obscura in the Tana valley.
04
Endemic to the central Lesser Caucasus.

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

Endemic to the central Lesser Caucasus. Named places: Kojori (barcode); Tana River valley (hybrid zone with obscura).

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Conservation

Biologically confirmed in the checklist. Gene introgression with obscura and valentini across contact zones is described.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

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

Colour will not tell you. obscura and valentini are close species with hybrid zones; portschinskii is substantially smaller. dahli is its parthenogenetic descendant (with mixta) and is also named at Kojori.

No. It is biologically confirmed in the checklist.

Central Lesser Caucasus. Barcode: Kojori. Hybrid zone with obscura: Tana River valley.

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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