Reptiles
What lizard is this?
Telling Georgia’s lizards apart starts with a photo and size, but for Darevskia colour is not enough — you need region and a profile.
ID
From a photo to a profile — not colour alone
Rock lizards (Darevskia) are numerous in the Caucasus and look alike. The Caucasian agama is an agamid; the glass lizard is a legless lizard, not a snake.
Below is a field order: photo → size → colour → range → lookalikes. The decision lives on the profile, not as a guarantee on this page.
Order
Where to start identification
Each step narrows the choice. If you are unsure, open profiles and compare.
- 01
Photo
Look at head shape, scales, limbs. A legless body may be a glass lizard or a slow worm — not necessarily a snake.
- 02
Size
The glass lizard is about 1–1.35 m on its profile; the slow worm is often 30–50 cm. Darevskia and the agama are smaller rock lizards. Numbers come from stats only.
- 03
Colour
Colour is not enough for Darevskia — one species varies. Use other marks and region.
- 04
Range
If you know the place, open the region page. Maps for many lizards are still empty — that is a gap, not “does not occur”.
- 05
Lookalikes
Compare the pairs below and open the profiles. Glass lizard vs snake has its own comparison guide.
Warning
Darevskia — colour is not enough
Caucasian rock lizards sit close together in appearance. Profile and region beat guessing by colour. The list below opens profiles.
Two exceptions
Agama and glass lizard stand apart
The agama is the only agamid in the checklist. The glass lizard is a large legless lizard — eyelids and ear openings.
Mix-ups
Pairs that are often confused
Agama vs gecko or rock lizard; glass lizard vs slow worm or grass snake.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Identification, range, safety, and species indexes — stay in the same topic instead of returning to the homepage.
FAQ
What people ask about ID
Short answers — the decision lives on the profile.
Not by colour alone. Darevskia species look alike. Use region, habitat, and profile marks.
Paralaudakia caucasia is an agamid, not a Darevskia. Its regional map is still empty — the range is not invented.
No. The glass lizard and the slow worm are lizards. The comparison guide gathers the marks.
Often not with certainty. Compare with the atlas and the region.