Caucasian Green Lizard
Lacerta media
A large Lacerta of semiarid east Georgia — a candidate in the L. trilineata complex.
Overview
What is Caucasian Green Lizard
The Caucasian green lizard (Lacerta media) is a lacertid. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 treat it as a candidate species: it belongs to the monophyletic L. trilineata complex; separate status is indirectly supported by phylogeny and parapatry in western Anatolia, but the contact zone with the L. trilineata group remains unexplored (Ahmadzadeh et al. 2013). Cytochrome b difference from L. trilineata reaches 6.5%. That does not confirm species rank in this atlas. It occurs in central and eastern Anatolia, Iran, and the Caucasus; in Georgia it is widespread in semiarid habitats of the east and sporadic in the northwest. The figure is from Tmogvi village; barcodes are from Pantishara Gorge and Tmogvi. It is harmless to people.
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Identification
How to identify Caucasian Green Lizard
A large Lacerta of semiarid eastern Georgia. It is a candidate — do not treat the rank as settled.
- 01
Member of the L. trilineata complex; candidate in the checklist.
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Widespread in eastern Georgia, sporadic in the northwest.
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Compare L. strigata and L. agilis — colour is not enough.
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Harmless to people.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Caucasian Green Lizard.
Yes. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026: widespread in semiarid east, sporadically in the northwest. The figure is from Tmogvi.
It is in the L. trilineata complex; the contact zone is unexplored. Cytochrome b difference reaches 6.5% — that does not settle rank here.
Harmless. It has no venom.
L. strigata is in semiarid habitats throughout the country and is biologically confirmed. L. media is a candidate and mainly eastern.
- 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.
Lacerta agilis
Sand Lizard
Western Georgia; east above 600–800 m
Lacerta strigata
Striped Lizard
Semiarid habitats throughout the country
Darevskia armeniaca
Armenian Rock Lizard
Southern Georgia — Ninotsminda (Saghamo), Akhalkalaki
Darevskia derjugini
Derjugin's Lizard
Western Georgia and the eastern forest belt — Lagodekhi, Sioni, Mulakhi, Racha, Baniskhevi, Kintrishi