NEWS113
35
FemaleGreekRockLizard,
Hellenolacertagraeca.
Helllenolacertagraeca,
Männchen
Wenn Sie jetzt Lust auf die Pflege und
Zucht von Eidechsen vom Peloponnes
bekommen haben: Ihr Zoofachhändler
kann Ihnen sicher welche beim
Großhändler seines Vertrauens für Sie
bestellen, z.B. beim Tropenparadies in
Oberhausen,Fax0208-665997
In the terrarium the Peloponnese Wall
Lizard is a very pleasing pet, that soon
gets to know its keeper. It can be kept in
pairs,ormaybewith anexcess of females.
Males are absolutely intolerant of one
another.
TheGreekRockLizard
Formerly likewise assigned to the catch-all
genus
Lacerta
,this species isnowplaced in
the monotypic genus
Hellenolacerta
. Our
knowledge of these lizards has increased
considerably in recent years.Until not that
long ago it was though that the species
was restricted exclusively to the Taygetos
Mountains in the south of the
Peloponnese. But recently it has alsobeen
found inotherpartsof thepeninsula.
Hellenolacertagraeca
is apparentlya relict
species that has been restricted to less
favorable biotopes by the ”modern”,
robust and aggressive wall lizards. Until
the 1980s it was known only as a
inhabitant of relatively moist stream
gorges, never straying far fromwater, but
it is now known that it also inhabits dry
biotopes as long as there is no other
species in competition there.
Let us seewhat LorenzM
ÜLLER
has to say
about this species aswell:
”Lacertagraeca
isofamuchquieternature
than
Lacertapeloponnesiaca
.To startwith,
itsmode of locomotion is quite different.
It doesn't shoot along jerkily in energetic
spurts like the Peloponnese Wall Lizard,
but moves slowly and deliberately over
rocky surfaces and boulders with an
exceptionally snake-likegait. It sometimes
appears that this mode of locomotion is
dictated by the abnormally long tail,
which is never curved upwards while
walking but trailed along behind,
contributing to the snake-likemovements
of thebody,Ofall the lizards that I know,
L.
graeca
is the most phlegmatic. (…) It is
forever trippingaroundwith its snake-like
movements, creeping up rock-faces in a
leisurely fashion, or slipping between the
boulders of the stream bed. Even when
pursued it never runs away rapidly, but
disappears into some hole or crevice or
other after a short flight, while
L.
peloponnesiaca
often shoots past the
ideal cranny into which to slip, relying
solely on its speed. I have never seen
Lacerta graeca chasing one another
around, and have never seen the sort of
battles betweenmales that are the order
of theday in
L.peloponnesiaca
.”
This delicate lizard is demandingwhen it
comes to maintenance, but its laid-back
temperamentmakesup for that!
