Meadow Lizard

Darevskia praticola

The eastern/central Georgian meadow lizard; northwestern Pontic populations are D. pontica here — colour is not enough.

Eastern and central Georgia — Sioni, TushurebiRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Eastern–central Georgia

Venom

None

Status

Biologically confirmed

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Meadow Lizard

The meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola) is biologically confirmed in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. It is a widespread, distinct species with a fragmented range; Georgian populations here belong to the eastern/nominotypical lineage (D. p. praticola — eastern and central Georgia). Pontic populations from northwestern Georgia are treated separately as candidate D. pontica. Barcodes are from Tushurebi and Sioni; the figure is from Sioni Reservoir. With derjugini it is a ground-dwelling Darevskia, but a different species.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Meadow Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Meadow Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Meadow Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Northwestern Pontic populations are pontica here.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
A meadow lizard; do not assume a rock species just from the genus.
03
Eastern/nominotypical lineage; NW Pontic populations are candidate D. pontica.
04
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Sioni).

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

Eastern and central Georgia (nominotypical lineage). Named places: Sioni Reservoir (figure); Sioni and Tushurebi (barcodes). Pontic northwest is pontica here.

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Conservation

Biologically confirmed in the checklist. Rank versus pontica is treated inconsistently in the literature.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the most important questions about Meadow Lizard.

pontica is the northwestern Pontic populations, a separate candidate here; genetic isolation from praticola is not demonstrated in the paper. derjugini is the other ground-dwelling species. Colour will not tell them apart.

No. praticola is biologically confirmed; pontica is the candidate.

Eastern and central Georgia. Figure: Sioni Reservoir; barcodes: Sioni, Tushurebi.

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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