Radde's Lizard

Darevskia raddei

A rock lizard restricted in Georgia to the upper Mtkvari near Türkiye; Georgian populations are closer to nairensis — colour is not enough.

Upper Mtkvari near the Turkish border — Aspindza (Pia), TmogviRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Upper Mtkvari

Venom

None

Status

Biologically confirmed

Family

Lacertidae

Overview

What is Radde's Lizard

Radde’s lizard (Darevskia raddei) is biologically confirmed in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. Genetic analyses do not support clear species-level separation between D. raddei and D. nairensis. Georgian populations are mitochondrially closer to D. r. nairensis than to nominal D. r. raddei from Armenia; nairensis is retained at subspecies rank. In Georgia the species is restricted to the upper reaches of the Mtkvari (Kura) near the border with Türkiye. Barcodes: Aspindza, Pia; Tmogvi. Figure: Pia Village, Mtkvari Gorge. This is not obscura, which is named more widely in the same basin.

Last updated 24 August 2026

Gallery

Radde's Lizard in photos

Distribution

Where Radde's Lizard lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify Radde's Lizard

Colour is not enough. Field ID among Darevskia needs scalation and range, not colour. Georgian populations belong to the nairensis lineage, not Armenian nominotypical raddei by colour.

01
Colour does not separate Darevskia species.
02
Georgian range is narrow: upper Mtkvari near the Turkish border.
03
D. nairensis is a subspecies here, not a separate species.
04
Checklist figures show head scalation and preanal plates (Pia).

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

In Georgia only the upper Mtkvari, near the Turkish border. Named places: Aspindza, Pia; Tmogvi.

Diet

The paper does not specify diet for this species.

Conservation

Biologically confirmed in the checklist. nairensis is kept as a subspecies given lack of demonstrated reproductive isolation.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

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

nairensis is a subspecies here. obscura is named more widely in the same basin (Borjomi, Meskheti, Javakheti) and is a candidate in the rudis complex. Colour will not tell them apart.

No. It is biologically confirmed in the checklist.

Upper Mtkvari near the Turkish border. Barcodes: Aspindza (Pia) and Tmogvi. Figure: Pia, Mtkvari Gorge.

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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