Gallotia galloti
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| Gallotia galloti | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Southern Tenerife Lizard
(Gallotia galloti galloti) male (top) and female |
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| Gallotia galloti Oudart, 1839 |
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Gallotia galloti (Tenerife Lizard or Western Canaries Lizard) is a lacertid (wall lizard) species of the genus Gallotia. It is found on the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Palma.
Four subspecies are recognized:
- Gallotia galloti eisentrauti - Northern Tenerife Lizard (northern Tenerife)
- Gallotia galloti galloti - Southern Tenerife Lizard (central and southern Tenerife, including Teide)
- Gallotia galloti insulanagae - Anaga Lizard (Roque de Fuera de Anaga, offshore the Macizo de Anaga mountains, northeastern Tenerife)
- Gallotia galloti palmae - La Palma Lizard (La Palma)
Its closest relative is the smaller Boettger's Lizard, which occurs on El Hierro and La Gomera (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003). G. galloti is a sizeable lizard, though with strong males reaching up to 40 cm (including tail) it still belongs to the smaller Gallotia as the giant species can reach up to double that length.
Unlike most larger species of its genus, the Western Canaries Lizard as a whole is a common animal. As it likes to eat ripe fruit, it can even become a nuisance in vineyards and orchards and is thus occasionally trapped or poisoned. Local populations thus may decline, but no subspecies currently are endangered. Due to its small area of occurrence, G. g. insulanagae is considered a vulnerable taxon, but it seems safe at present as its habitat is fairly inaccessible and included in the Parque Rural de Anaga (Blanco & González 1992).
The striking color of adult males and their curious nature endear them to many tourists. At popular sights, notably Mount Teide, the lizards have become rather tame and an attraction of sorts themselves. It is quite popular to bring some ripe bananas along for the lizards, which are a most favorite food of this species and will provide travellers with good photo opportunities as the animals scurry over the rocks and even onto visitor's hands to catch a bite.[1]
[edit] References
- Blanco, Juan Carlos & González, José Luis (eds.) (1992): Libro rojo de los vertebrados de España. ICONA, Madrid.
- Maca-Meyer, N.; Carranza, S.; Rando, J.C.; Arnold, E.N. & Cabrera, V.M. (2003): Status and relationships of the extinct giant Canary Island lizard Gallotia goliath (Reptilia: Lacertidae), assessed using ancient mtDNA from its mummified remains. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 80(4): 659–670. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2003.00265.x (HTML abstract)
- Miras, J.A.M. & Pérez-Mellado, V. (2005). Gallotia galloti. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 24 Feb 2007. Database entry includes a brief justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
- Herp.it: Gallotia galloti. Many photos, especially of G. g. eisentrauti.
- lacerta.de: Gallotia galloti eisentrauti image gallery. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.
- lacerta.de: Gallotia galloti galloti image gallery. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.
- lacerta.de: Gallotia galloti palmae image gallery. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.
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