Overview
Steppe-Runner in Georgia
The steppe-runner (Eremias arguta) is a harmless open-ground lizard of southeast Georgia. It belongs to the true lizards (Lacertidae). The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed and distinct from sympatric racerunners. In Georgia it is sporadic, not nationwide. The checklist subspecies is E. a. transcaucasica Darevsky, 1953; the type locality is in Armenia (Mets-Mazra), not Georgia. The named barcode is from Samukhi Valley (Dedoplistskaro Municipality; CaBOL-ID 1039481). The named photograph on this atlas is from the same municipality, September 2025. It has no venom. Globally it is Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List.
Last updated
Gallery
Steppe-Runner in photos
Photo: Giorgi Sheklashvili
Samukhis valley ·
Georgia field photo
Photo: Giorgi Sheklashvili
Samukhis valley ·
Georgia field photo
Photo: Diego Rodriguez
Vashlovani protected areas ·
Georgia field photo
Photo: Aurélien Grimaud · iNaturalist
Dedoplistskaro Municipality ·
Photo: Nikita Sevastianov · iNaturalist
Volgograd Oblast, Russia ·
Photo: Наталья Бешко · iNaturalist
Uzbekistan ·
Photo: Eugene Popov · iNaturalist
Astrakhan Oblast, Russia ·
Identification
How to identify Steppe-Runner
A relatively stocky open-ground racerunner with a spotted or ocellate back. In Georgia compare it first with the rapid racerunner and the snake-eyed lizard. Colour alone is not enough.
The body is more robust and the legs relatively shorter than in the rapid racerunner (Eremias velox). The snout is pointed, but not as slender as in long-tailed racerunners. At species level snout–vent length is often about 6–8 cm; the tail is not much longer than the body. A measured Georgian series is not on this page. The lower eyelid is movable — that separates it from the snake-eyed lizard.
The back is grey, sandy, or olive with pale ocelli or irregular dark spots — the source of the Georgian name. Juveniles are more contrasty. Adults rarely show strong stripes; the rapid racerunner often has longitudinal stripes and blue flank ocelli. Pattern varies widely: some gallery photos are from outside Georgia and show other subspecies.
A scalation character (Anderson 1999): the subocular scale does not reach the lip. In the rapid racerunner that scale usually does. This is an in-hand character — do not pick the animal up. The two rows of femoral pores are separated by a relatively wide gap.
The rapid racerunner is more common in the same southeast (checklist: “fairly common” versus “sporadic”). It is slimmer, longer-tailed, and a more obvious sprinter. The snake-eyed lizard (Ophisops elegans) is smaller and has fused eyelids — the eye looks snake-like. The green lizard Lacerta strigata is larger and often green. The Asian snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus pannonicus) is a tiny skink, not a racerunner.
The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. In Georgia it is sporadic, not nationwide. The named barcode is from Samukhi Valley (Dedoplistskaro Municipality). The rapid racerunner is more usual in the same southeast: the checklist calls that species fairly common and this one sporadic.
Quiz
Next: which lizard is it?
Steppe-Runner is in the Georgia lizard quiz. Ten field photos, four names — eye practice, not field ID.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
The checklist names southeast Georgia; distribution confidence is medium. The named genetic specimen is from Samukhi Valley, Dedoplistskaro Municipality. This atlas map shows Kakheti from those records; that does not mean the species occurs throughout Kakheti, or that every dry valley has been surveyed. There is no named western, Colchic, or high Javakheti locality on this page. Historical Georgian records rest on Nikolskii 1913 and Muskhelishvili 1970; further municipalities are not inferred from them here. At species level it uses open dry ground — steppe, semi-desert, sandy or clay soils with sparse grass; do not expect it in forest. A published elevation range for Georgia is not available. Samukhi and the dry Dedoplistskaro lowland are low elevation; the subspecies type locality in Armenia is about 2,100 m — that is not a Georgian elevation. The global range is wide, from eastern Europe to Central Asia; the South Caucasus lies near the southern edge.
Diet
No Georgian stomach-content study is on this page. At species level it eats mainly small invertebrates — beetles, other insects, spiders; European literature also names small snails. It has no venom; prey is seized in the jaws.
Behavior
It is active by day. It is a fast lizard of open ground: it basks on the soil, flees quickly, and often hides in a burrow or at a grass tussock. A full Georgian seasonal calendar has not been published separately. The Georgian photograph on this atlas is from late September in Dedoplistskaro — one observation, not a complete phenology. In European populations animals often appear from March–April and enter winter shelter in September–October; that is a European calendar. It lays eggs. At species level, European literature reports 3–11 eggs; Georgian clutch size is not measured here. If seized, the tail may break off; it may also bite. Watch it and leave it where it is.
Conservation
IUCN assessed it as Least Concern in 2018 (Aghasyan and co-authors) because the range is wide; the global population trend is given as stable. That assessment is species-wide and does not measure the sporadic Georgian population on its own. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Decree No. 190). The checklist calls it sporadic in the southeast — that is rarity, not a Red List category. In Armenia the Sevan isolate of the same subspecies is nationally assessed as Critically Endangered; that is an Armenian situation and should not be copied automatically onto Georgia. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 note large geographic COI differences within some nominal species, including E. arguta; the Georgian specimen is still treated here as E. arguta. Local pressure may include conversion of dry steppe. Do not catch wild lizards.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Steppe-Runner.
Yes. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed and sporadic in the southeast. The named barcode is from Samukhi Valley. Do not assume it occurs throughout the country.
On dry open steppe in the southeast. The named locality is Dedoplistskaro Municipality — Samukhi Valley. This atlas map shows Kakheti. There is no named western or Colchic point on this page.
No. It has no venom. If seized it may bite; the tail may break off. Leave it where it is.
A relatively stocky open-ground lizard with a spotted or ocellate back and a movable eyelid. The rapid racerunner is slimmer and often striped. The snake-eyed lizard has fused eyelids. Colour alone is not enough.
At species level snout–vent length is often about 6–8 cm. A full Georgian measurement series is not on this page.
Both are Eremias and overlap in the southeast. The rapid racerunner is more common, slimmer, and longer-tailed; the steppe-runner is stockier with an ocellate pattern. In the steppe-runner the subocular does not reach the lip — that is an in-hand character.
It lays eggs. Georgian clutch size is not measured here; at species level European literature reports 3–11 eggs. Diet has not been studied separately in Georgia; at species level it eats small invertebrates.
By day, in the warm season on open ground. A full Georgian calendar has not been published separately. The Georgian photograph on this atlas is from late September in Dedoplistskaro.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Darevsky 1953 — On the taxonomic position of Transcaucasian Eremias arguta
- Muskhelishvili 1970 — Georgian records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
- Nikolskii 1913 — Historical records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
- Poyarkov, Orlova & Chirikova 2014 — Mitochondrial phylogeography of Eremias arguta
- Aghasyan et al. 2018 — IUCN Red List, Eremias arguta
- Anderson 1999 — scalation diagnosis, cited in The Reptile Database
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- The Reptile Database — Eremias arguta
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Lizard species
Every lizard in the index — Darevskia in its own block. An empty cell is a missing source.
IndexQuizWhich lizard is it?
A photo, four names, instant feedback — Georgia’s lizard catalog. This is not the field guide.
Start the quizIDWhat lizard is this?
Photo, size, colour, range. For Darevskia, colour is not enough.
ID guide
Darevskia daghestanica
Daghestanian Rock Lizard
Tusheti; Akhmeta (Tbatana)
Darevskia derjugini
Derjugin's Lizard
Western Georgia and the forest belt of eastern Georgia
Darevskia praticola
Meadow Lizard
Eastern and central Georgia — Sioni, Tushurebi
Lacerta media
Caucasian Green Lizard
Eastern Georgia — Tmogvi, Pantishara; sporadically the northwest