Podarcis sicula has a bewildering array of subspecies, about most if not all of which there is very little readily available information. At one point there were no less than 91 subspecies described, but many of these were based on poorly attested characteristics and since then it has been realised that some of these subspecies were really simple colour variations. This list is therefore included for completeness as much as anything.
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution | Size | Notes |
| P. s. adriatica | Ruins Lizard | Pelagosa Picciola | 8-10" | No further data available. |
| P. s. aemiliani | Apano Major and Minor, nr Brindisi | |||
| P. s. alverioi | Scolio Faraglione | |||
| P. s. amparoae | Dino Is. (S Calabria) | |||
| P. s. astorgae | Astorga Island | |||
| P. s. bagnolensis | Bagnole Island | |||
| P. s. bolei | Tovarjes | |||
| P. s. calabresiae | Montecristo (Tuscan archipelago) | |||
| P. s. campestris | N Italy inc. Po Valley and Abruzzi Mtns: E coast of Italy to Monte Gargano and Apulia: islands of Elba, Corsica and Monte Christo: Adriatic coast from Istria to N Dalmatia: isolated populations in France and USA | This is the northern race of P. sicula (Hellmich) and has a fairly widespread distribution. The dorsal coloration is grass green or a paler olive green, broken into two broad bands by a central brownish area of varying width which contains a row of dark patches: in females, these patches may be so close as to form a black band. This pattern of darker patches, or ocelli, on a brown background also marks the flanks. Females often also have a deep black ocella with a bluish or greenish centre on the shoulder above the arm joint (Hellmich). Ventral colour may be a shade of white, yellow or green, and sometimes also of red. Some individuals seem to also display blue-marked scales along the edge of the belly (see the picture in Rogner). | ||
| P. s. caporiaccoi | Greece; Capraia and Peraiola islands (Tuscan archipelago) | |||
| P. s. cattaroi | Kotor | Believed to have been introduced during the time of Venetian superiority | ||
| P. s. cettii | W Sicily, Pantelleria, Aegades Islands and Sardinia (not NE) | Dorsum is almost entirely green with sparsely dotted lines. Flanks are brownish with dark patches (Hellmich). In Sardinia it is apparently the most commonly encountered lacertid species at low level, but is scarcely if ever encountered in the higher uplands of the island (source). | ||
| P. s. ciclopica | Lachea and Madonnina Rock (E Sicily) | |||
| P. s. coerulea | The "stacks" of Mezzo and Fuore nr. Capri Is, Campania | There seems to be two colour patterns for this subspecies: either it is uniformly greyish black or else dorsally black, turning to deep blue on the flanks. Throat is sky blue and the belly ocean blue (Hellmich). | ||
| P. s. cucchiarai | Scoglio La Canna | |||
| P. s. dupinici | Veli- and Mali Dupinic | |||
| P. s. fiumanoidea | Visoki, Misar | |||
| P. s. flavigula | San Giovanni Faro | |||
| P. s. gallensis | Galli Rocks (Gulf of Salerno), including Gallo Maggiore and Castelluccia | Moderately large and robust form. Relative to the sicula subspecies living on the nearby mainland, gallensis have a somewhat shorter tail length, darker overall green and tendency to cyanism. Mertens also noted that even in October the individuals he observed had their green, while many of the sicula individuals he observed on the mainland were still the brown of summer. Scalation details [Mertens]: 8-12 collar scales, 65-76 dorsal rows, 24-27 ventral rows (males) or 27-30 (females), 20-26 femoral pores, 27-34 subdigital lamellae beneath 4th toe. Coloration: overall leaf- to grass-green with faded sicula-pattern. Very large sky-blue axillary spot, only lightly if at all outlined in black, often with smaller blue spots both in front and behind. Lateral scales intense blue, ventrally usually grey to grey-blue, rarely pure white. | ||
| P. s. hadzii | Balkan mainland (S Yugoslavia, S Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia) | |||
| P. s. hieroglyphica | European Turkey, inc. Istanbul | |||
| P. s. insularum | W Istrian islands inc. La Longa | |||
| P. s. klemmeri | Licosa (Gulf of Salerno, Campania) | |||
| P. s. kolombatovici | Small islands of Velika and Mala Kluda nr. Trogir off Dalmatia | |||
| P. s. laganjensis | Veli and Mali Laganj | |||
| P. s. lanzai | Greece; Gavi Island, Pontino Archipelago | |||
| P. s. latastei | Ponza Island and Madonna "Stack", Pontino Archipelago | |||
| P. s. massinei | Rotonda Is. (Gulf of Salerno, Campania) | Moderately large and fairly robust race. Distinguished from P. s. gallensis on neighbouring islands in the same area by darker overall colour and a lively blue patterning. Scalation details (Mertens): 6 supraciliaries, 10-11 supraciliary granules, 8-13 collar scales, 31 gular scales in a row from the symphysis of the chin shields to the collar: 67-75 dorsal rows, 25-27 ventral rows (males) or 28-29 (females), 23-27 femoral pores and 28-34 subdigital lamellae under the 4th toe. Coloration: dorsally variable, from dark moss green to an olive brown. Patterning may be indistinct or may exhibit a deep black sicula pattern which may also show enlarged individual parts: in one example a rough reticulation was formed. This "amplified" pattern appears to be more common than the "indistinct" pattern. Axillar spot sky blue, very large and without black outline, partly merging with a neighbouring smaller spot. Ventrally all the individuals vary from a fairly dark blue to grey-blue - never white. | ||
| P. s. monaconensis | Monacone Rocks nr. Capri | Cyanistic form. | ||
| P. s. nikolici | Gusti Skolj | |||
| P. s. palmarolae | Palmarola Is., Pontino Archipelago | |||
| P. s. pasquinii | Capello Rock, Pontino Archipelago | |||
| P. s. paulae | Santo Ianni (W Basilicata) | |||
| P. s. pelagosae | Pelagosa Grande | Formerly known as P. s. cazzae. Ground colour is a whitish green while the markings become deep black (Hellmich). | ||
| P. s. pirosoensis | Piroso Grande | |||
| P. s. pohlibensis | Pohlib, Planicic, Hrid Sip, Planik, Olib, Morovnik | |||
| P. s. premudana | Premuda, Hripa, Masarine | |||
| P. s. premudensis | Lutrosnjak | |||
| P. s. pretneri | Gustinja, Pisulj | |||
| P. s. radovanovici | Orada | |||
| P. s. salfii | Vivaro di Nerano (Gulf of Salerno) | Described by Mertens as inclined to melanism but otherwise fairly similar in appearance to gallensis. Scalation details: 9-11 collar scales, 64-73 dorsal rows, 24-28 ventral scales (males) or 24-29 (females), 20-27 femoral pores, 29-34 digital sublamellae under 4th toe. Coloration: dorsally blue-green, with indistinct pattern, slight Ausbildung des Axillarflecks, ventrally grey- to smoky-blue, but less strikingly so than in coerulea. The young are strongly patterned but on the whole somewhat lighter than the adults. | ||
| P. s. samogradi | Samograd, Vrtlic | |||
| P. s. sanctinicolai | Tremiti Islands | |||
| P. s. sanctistephani | San Stefano nr. Ventotene in the Tyrrhenian Sea | Distinguished by larger markings (Hellmich). | ||
| P. s. sicula | Italy S of Rome, E Sicily and Lipari Islands | Dorsum is yellow-grey or blue-green, with longitudinal stripes composed of close dark patches. The dorsal stripes continue partially down the tail, although the central one may continue to the end. By contrast the black lateral patches form transverse rows (Hellmich). There is a blue spot just above the forelimbs. The belly is white, yellow or green, and in breeding males may be red: if the latter, then the outer ventral scales are blue, usually with black spots. | ||
| P. s. tyrrhenica | Giglio, Giannutri and Capraja | |||
| P. s. vesseljuchi | Vesseljuh | |||
Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas Band 2/II, Echsen (Sauria) III, Lacertidae III: Podarcis (special reprint), Wolfgang Böhme, AULA-Verlag, Wiesbaden. This republication of the chapter dealing with Podarcis sicula really contains a wealth of detail on the taxonomic history, distribution, ecology and behaviour of this species. Recommended for anybody who wants to study P. sicula in depth.
"Die Inseleidechsen des Golfes von Salerno", Robert Mertens, Natur-Museum und Forschungs-Institut Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, 1961. Looks at the P. sicula subspecies on the islands around the Gulf of Salerno and describes the new subspecies P. s. massinei.
I Lacertidi Italiani [The Lizards of Italy], Claudia Corti and Pietro Lo Cascio, L'Epos, Palermo 1999. Very useful information on the lacertid lizards of Italy, including subspecies distribution details. The only thing missing is scalation details which would have made this little book almost perfect! An English translation that appears to have supplementary details is now available.
Collins Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe, E N Arnold, J A Burton and D W Ovenden, HarperCollins, London 1978. An invaluable guide, although a few of the taxonomic details are in need of revision.
Echsen [Lizards] 2, Manfred Rogner, Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994. Does not list all Podarcis species but gives useful details on those selected, including husbandry of captives.
Reptiles and Amphibians of Europe, Walter Hellmich, Blandford Press, London 1962. Taxonomy is rather outdated but useful on details of appearance, habitat and subspecies.
Of particular interest in the examination of Podarcis sicula subspecies may be the article by Staa Tome, of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts, Gosposka ul. 13, 61000 Ljubljana, SLO. "A critical survey of the taxonomic situation of the Italian Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula (Rafinesque-Schmaltz 1810)" in the "Annals for Istrian and Mediterranean Studies", 7, 1995, pp. 223-230. The authoress criticies some of Merten's (1937) and Brelih's descriptions of twelve subspecies of Podarcis sicula, citing an insufficient number of samples, erroneous use of colour as a taxonomic characteristic, and inexactness and subjectiveness of the methods applied during their description of the new subspecies. If you access the website, you need to scroll down some way to get the English synopsis.
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