Lacerta strigata has been confirmed in Georgia and is harmless to people. It is found mainly in semi-arid areas. Young lizards have five light stripes along their backs and sides, while adult males often have a green front part of the body. It is difficult to tell it apart from other green lizards by color alone.
Identification
How to identify Striped Lizard
This is a medium-sized lizard with well-developed legs. Young lizards are usually brownish and have five pale stripes along their bodies. Adult males often turn bright green, especially toward the front of the body, while the rear may remain olive-brown. Do not rely on color alone to tell this lizard apart from other green lizards.
Often confused with
This lizard has a sturdy body and well-developed legs. A distinct “collar” of scales is visible on its neck, while several lengthwise rows of larger plates run along its belly. These small features are hard to see from a distance. Without picking the animal up, it is more useful to look at its overall size, color, body pattern, and surroundings.
Young lizards of this species are olive brown, with five narrow, pale stripes along their backs and sides. They may also have small dark spots between the stripes. The stripes gradually fade as they grow, though traces often remain longer in females. The front of an adult male’s body is often bright green, while the rear and tail may remain olive brown. During mating season, the sides of the head, throat and neck sometimes turn bluish. Females are usually paler and often retain spots or traces of the stripes.
Lacerta agilis can resemble the lizard called ზოლიანი ხვლიკი, especially when young, because both can have stripes. Lacerta agilis is widespread in western Georgia. Records from eastern Georgia mostly concern places above roughly 600–800 m. It is listed as a candidate in the Georgian list. The lizard called ზოლიანი ხვლიკი is more often found in fairly dry places. Colour alone cannot reliably distinguish the two species.
Lacerta media is another large green lizard that may resemble a lizard with stripes. In Georgia, it is mainly associated with semi-arid areas in the east; there are also isolated records from the northwest. It is listed as a candidate on the Georgian list. Young lizards of both species may have five pale stripes, while adult males are green. Stripe count or green color alone cannot tell them apart. When the striped lizard is adult and green, its hind legs and tail often remain brownish. The described adult male L. media, however, has an entirely green back. Compare clear photos showing each lizard’s whole body.
In Kakheti’s dry, open areas, Eremias velox can look like a young lizard with stripes from a distance, especially in a photo showing its back. Both have light stripes running lengthwise over a brownish background. Eremias velox is slimmer; a Georgian field description noted distinctly reddish tails in young Eremias velox. Judge these features only from a clear photo, and do not rely on a single feature.
Ophisops elegans lives in open, dry places in the southeast. A brown one with light stripes may look like a young striped lizard from a distance. Ophisops elegans is smaller. Its eyelids are fused, so in a close-up photo its eye looks as though it is always open. Darevskia lizards are usually smaller and are often found on rocks and walls. They lack the five stripes typical of a young striped lizard. None of these lizards is venomous.
In Georgia, this lizard is found in semi-dry areas. DNA analysis also confirmed that one lizard found in Kakheti belongs to this species. It lives in dry grasslands, semi-deserts, open areas by rivers, along the edges of meadows and fields, in windbreaks and among shrubs. It shelters near shrubs, in thick grass, in rodent burrows and among piles of stones.
Distribution
Where striped lizard distribution is confirmed in Georgia
222 field records2009–20266 regions with records
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- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Confirmed distribution region
The striped lizard map uses Reptiles.ge editorial photo records and public iNaturalist observations in Georgia. Regions come from the records-by-region table: only confirmed status counts as distribution; otherwise a region is not treated as part of the range. Record counts reflect observation effort, not population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
Biology
Diet, behavior, and conservation
Diet
This lizard mainly eats small animals without backbones, including beetles, spiders, snails, ants, flies and grasshoppers.
Behavior
This lizard is active during the day. In the Caucasus, adults often emerge in March after winter. In Georgia, they may appear as early as February if the winter is mild. Adults usually begin their winter rest in September, while young lizards are sometimes active in October and November too. Mating begins in spring. Egg laying has been recorded from late spring to early summer. A female may lay eggs twice in a season, about 6–11 eggs each time.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Striped Lizard.
Yes. Lacerta strigata has been confirmed in Georgia.
In Georgia’s semi-arid areas—steppes, semi-deserts, open areas along rivers, and near fields with shrubs. DNA analysis confirmed the species of a specimen from Kakheti.
This species is a medium-sized lizard. Young ones are usually brownish, with five light stripes running along their bodies. In adult males, the front of the body is often green, while the back remains brownish or olive-colored. The throat may turn bluish during the mating season. Do not rely on color alone to tell it apart from other green lizards.
No. The striped lizard is not venomous and is not dangerous to people. If you pick it up, it may bite to defend itself or shed its tail. It is best to leave it where it is in the wild.
An adult’s head and body are usually about 7–11 cm long. Including the tail, it can reach about 30 cm in length.
In eastern Georgia, Lacerta agilis is found mainly above roughly 600–800 m, while Lacerta strigata occurs in semi-arid areas. Young lizards of both species may have stripes. Elevation or body pattern alone is not enough to tell them apart.
Lacerta media is a green lizard larger than the lizard called ზოლიანი ხვლიკი in Georgian. In Georgia, it is found mainly in semi-arid areas in the east. Adults of the two species may look alike in color, so do not rely on green alone to tell them apart.
It is active during the day, mostly in the warm season. In the Caucasus, adults often appear in March; in Georgia, they may appear in February during mild winters. Young ones sometimes remain active later into autumn.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- iNaturalist — Lacerta strigata observations in Georgia
- Muskhelishvili 1970 — Reptiles of Eastern Georgia (cited in Langerwerf 1980)
- Langerwerf 1980 — The Caucasian green lizard, Lacerta strigata
- in den Bosch & Bischoff 2004 — Remarks on the herpetofauna of Georgia
- Ahmadzadeh et al. 2008 — A Preliminary Study of the Lizard Fauna and Their Habitats in Northwestern Iran
- Yıldız et al. 2023 — Amphibians and Reptiles of Mount Ararat
- Tuniyev et al. 2009 — IUCN Red List, Lacerta strigata (errata 2017)
- Hojati et al. 2016 — Reproductive biology of Lacerta strigata in Iran
- Saberi-Pirooz et al. 2021 — Pleistocene climate and genetic structure of Lacerta strigata
- The Reptile Database — Lacerta strigata
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
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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