One of the 9 wall lizards on WAnimals
Reptiles · Squamata · Lacertidae
Moroccan Rock Lizard
Scelarcis perspicillata
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The Moroccan rock lizard, known in Spanish as lagartija de Marruecos or lagartija percalizada, is a small, very flattened lacertid of north-west Africa, adapted to living on vertical faces of damp rock. Its compressed body lets it slip into extremely narrow cracks, and unlike most lizards it prefers shaded, wet places to sunny slopes.
Weight
2 kg – 5 kg
Size
5 cm – 7 cm
Lifespan
6 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- Its body is so flattened that it can slip into cracks barely a few millimetres wide, an adaptation it shares with other rock-face lacertids on different continents.
- It prefers shaded, damp places to sunny slopes, a habit that is unusual among Mediterranean lizards and that confines it to gorges and seeping rock faces.
- It was introduced to Menorca decades ago and there is a small feral population there, although its known impact is limited.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Damp rock faces, gorges, walls and shaded places of the Moroccan Atlas and northern Algeria
- Size at birth
- About 2 cm of body on hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 50 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 3 eggs
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: From March to October, by day, on rock faces and damp walls of the Moroccan Rif and Atlas; there are introduced populations on Menorca.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 13 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Moroccan Rock Lizard — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Spanish Wall Lizard
Podarcis hispanicus
Large Psammodromus
Psammodromus algirus
Common Wall Lizard
Podarcis muralis
Cyren's Rock Lizard
Iberolacerta cyreni
Ocellated Lizard
Timon lepidus
Western Green Lizard
Lacerta bilineata
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about moroccan rock lizard.
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