There are wall lizards in New England and I’m trying to track their spread and adaptation to this new environment.
We found the Italian Wall Lizard, Podarcis siculus, in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. I’m anxious to learn more about the first lacertid in New England.
How did it get here? How many are here now? How might it interact with other species in the region? How does it survive our cold winters? Stay tuned here as we learn more.
Think you’ve seen the Italian Wall Lizard in your backyard? Send me an email!
News articles, blogs, and other stories about the lizards:
- The New York Times: Migrant Lizard, Having Made It in New York, Heads Elsewhere, by Jim Dwyer (August 26, 2016)
- The Greenwich Time: Italian Lizards Invade Greenwich, by Peregrine Frissell (July 24, 2016)
- The Beaker: A lizard from all the way across the Atlantic (July 16, 2015)
- Yale Peabody Museum, Online guide to Reptiles of CT: Podarcis sicula
- The Last Word on Nothing: The Lizards of Hastings-on-Hudson, by Ben Goldfarb (Jan 21, 2016).
Recent peer-reviewed publications:
- Donihue, C.M. 2017. Podarcis siculus: A breeding population in Boston’s Fenway Victory Gardens. Geographic Distribution Notes: Herpetological Review. [PDF]
- Lambert, M.R., B.A. Goldfarb, G.J. Watkins-Colwell, & M. Donihue. 2016. Podarcis siculus (Italian Wall Lizard). Habitat, invasion of suburban Winchester County, New York. Herpetological Review.
- Goldfarb, B.A., M.R. Lambert, M. Donihue, & G.J. Watkins-Colwell. 2016. Podarcis siculus in Winchester County NY. Geographical Distribution Notes: Herpetological Review. [PDF]
- Donihue, C.M., M.R. Lambert, and G.J. Watkins-Colwell. 2015. Podarcis sicula (Italian wall lizard) habitat invasion of suburban New England. Herpetological Review 46(2): 260-261. [PDF]
- Donihue, C.M., M.R. Lambert, G.J. Watkins-Colwell. 2014. Podarcis sicula: The first population found in New England. Geographical Distribution Notes: Herpetological Review 45(4): 661-662. [PDF]
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Colin Donihue 