Southern Spain, central and northern Morocco, northern Algeria and northern Tunisia.  Introduced to: Alborán Island (Spain); Agioi Anargyroi (Athens, Greece).

Species:

Podarcis vaucheri  (BOULENGER, 1905)

Population (1):

Podarcis vaucheri `Jebel Sirwah Population` 

Synonyms:

Lacerta muralis var. vaucheri  BOULENGER, 1905

Lacerta (Podarcis) bocagei vaucheri  MERTENS & MÜLLER, 1940

Lacerta hispanica vaucheri  KLEMMER, 1959

Podarcis vaucheri  OLIVERIO et al, 2000

Common names:

Maghreb Wall Lizard (English)
Maghreb-Mauereidechse (German)
Lagartija Andaluza (Spanish)

Types:

Syntypes: BMNH

Terra Typica:

Tanger (Morocco).


Taxonomic notes:

At present three mitochondrial lineages of this species are known: two in southern Spain and another inhabiting Morocco and Western Algeria (KALIONTZOPOULOU et al. 2011). Notice that the rest of the North African range of the genus (NE Algeria, Tunisia and a small isolate in the High Atlas in Morocco) is still maintained under P. hispanica, since they represent a separate phylogenetic clade (KALIONTZOPOULOU et al. 2011) and elevation to the species level by BUSACK et al. 2005 only included the Moroccan and Spanish populations.


Relevant taxonomic literature:

  • Boulenger, G.A. (1905) -  Description of Podarcis vaucheri. -  In: “A contribution to the knowledge of the varieties of the Wall-Lizard (Lacerta muralis) in western Europe and North Africa”. - Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 17: 351-420.   

  • Busack, S.D. & Lawson, R. & Arjo, W. (2005) -  Mitochondrial DNA, allozymes, morphology and historical biogeography in the Podarcis vaucheri (Lacertidae) species complex. -  Amphibia-Reptilia, 26 (2): 239-256.    

  • Kaliontzopoulou, A. & Pinho, C. & Harris, D.J. & Carretero, M.A. (2011) -  When cryptic diversity blurs the picture: a cautionary tale from Iberian and North African Podarcis wall lizards. -  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 103 (4): 779–800.    

  • Caeiro-Dias, G. & Brelsford, A. & Kaliontzopoulou, A. & Carretero, M.A. & Crochet, A. & Pinho, C. (2018) -  Drivers of reproductive isolation in Wall Lizards inferred from comparative analysis of contact zones. -  II Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology.Poster.    

  • Caeiro-Dias, G. & Luis, C. & Pinho, C. & Crochet, P.-A. & Sillero, N. & Kaliontzopoulou, A. (2018) -  Lack of congruence of genetic and niche divergence in Podarcis hispanicus complex. -  J Zool Syst Evol Res. 2018; 1–14. (early view)