Sand Lizard
Identification: Firm, stocky lizard with relatively short legs and tail. Not flattened. Body length up to about 9.5 cm, rarely larger. Original tail 1.3-1.7 times the body length. (A regenerated tail is shorter and less colourful than the original one). Head is short and deep (especially in males). Collar strongly serrated. Along the mid-back is a band of 8-16 scales, in which the scales are clearly narrowed and more keeled than the ones on each side of this band. Scales on the flanks are not keeled. Males are a little shorter than females but have a much bigger head and a relatively longer tail. In males the flanks and forelegs are bright green in spring (head, back, hind legs and tail usually stay brown). Females and subadult animals are brown or greyish brown. In most animals there's a light streak over the centre of the back, often broken up. There is also a light streak or series of spots on the sides of the back, which becomes continuous at the tail. Between these lines are multiple rows of dark spots. On the flanks there is a row of light spots surrounded by dark ones, sometimes merged together into streaks. In males the belly is light green, in females and young animals cream or yellow. In males the belly has many dark spots, while there are few in females and sometimes the spots are completely absent. Some specimens show a different pattern, such as males with an almost entirely green back or animals with a reddish or uniform brown-coloured back, without blotches. Young animals often have yellowish or whitish ocelli, bordered with dark brown on their flanks (sometimes also on the back). They often have a light streak on both sides of the back, and the tail is light-coloured. Subadult animals look like females.
Range: Occurs in a large part of Europe. Extremely rare in the British Isles, confined to a handful of sites in the UK. A very restricted distribution in southern England in Dorset and Surrey; also in north-west England in coastal Merseyside. In some places in the UK it is extinct now, although in some of these it has been reintroduced, including the West Country, West Sussex, Wales and Scotland. Not found in Ireland.
Habitat: All the sites that this lizard occupies in the UK are on sandy heath land or adjacent to heath land. In the south of its range it occupies more varied habitats. Also in the mountains, in the Pyrenees up to altitudes of 2200 metres.
Habits: Active from the end of March until October, depending on weather conditions. Most animals emerge from hibernation in April, the males first. At the end of April, breeding starts and continues until June. From June onwards, eggs are laid in open sandy places that are well exposed to the sun, and they are incubated by its warmth. Depending on the average summer temperatures, the young hatch between July and the beginning of October. Most hatch around the end of August/ beginning of September. The adult animals usually stay in their area, while young animals often migrate to new suitable habitats. The animals feed on all kinds of invertebrates such as spiders and insects. They hibernate in holes dug by themselves or abandoned ones from other animals such as mice. Hibernation is from mid-September to March, depending on weather conditions.
How to find: These animals can be seen from March to October. Breeding takes place in May and the beginning of June, and the animals can be observed most readily then. Adult animals are active from March until the end of September, while young animals in good weather conditions stay active until November.