Adur Local Lizards comparison page:

excludes Slow Worms

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6 May 2008

On the Old Fort, Shoreham Beach, the fleeting glimpse of a Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis, skitting into the undergrowth next to the sun-baked south-facing flint surround wall was the first of the year.

Credit is due to Ray Hamblett for discovering a buried hibernating Common Lizard, Lacerta vivipara,  under a rotten log at the top of McIntyres Field, north Lancing. It was very difficult to see amongst the earth.

This must be a small Common Lizard, judging by the toes not being webbed. Note it is missing the end of its tail.

11 September 2007
 

In the warmth (20.4 ºC) of the midday sun, the six Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis, seen on the Old Fort on Shoreham Beach were particularly lively clambering much further up the wall on two occasions than I had ever seen them do before, with behaviour uncharacteristic of the Common Lizard. One Wall Lizard basked on a ledge right near the top of the wall and another skittered that high before disappearing around to the shady side and out of view.
Adur Coastal Reports 2007

10 September 2007
A Common Lizard Lacerta vivipara, skittered across the towpath by Shoreham Airport at the end near Old Shoreham Toll Bridge. The Common Lizard is always associated with the grassy undergrowth and is not found skittering up walls.

9 September 2007
A Common Lizard Lacerta vivipara, skittered across the chalk path near the Reservoir on Mill Hill.

7 September 2007
Immediately I descended down the steps to the lower slopes of Mill Hill, a Common Lizard, Lacerta vivipara, skittered from the white chalk path to under the Brambles. This was rare sight on the bank, although they were known to occur there.

24 & 29 July 2007
The Common Lizard was seen under a piece of roofing felt on Mill Hill. This time it was not so plump. At the second sighting it was seen to have lost a large part of its tail by autonomy.

4 July 2007
A Common Lizard was seen under a piece of roofing felt deliberately laid down in the central mixed scrub and grass area (north of the Triangle) near the northern perimeter of Mill Hill. Its middle was plump, presumably with its viviparous young.
 

23 May 2007 A bright green lizard skittered out from a clump of Sea Kale on the shingle part of Shoreham Beach south of Shingle Road. Apparently, they are often seen in this area and in the gardens of the houses and the school grounds in the same road. The lizard appeared to be a lime green colour without obvious markings. It looks like a Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis. Report by Stephen Savage NB: I have also received past reports from two separate reliable sources of a green lizard brought in by a cat and lots of unidentified lizards in a garden (by a visitor not the owner) from the same area. It was an exceptionally green and heavily gravid female Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis. Identification confirmed by Chris Davis (Herpetological Conservation Trust)

27 March 2007 In the late afternoon the earlier sunshine had brought out the first Common Lizards, Lacerta vivipara, of the year on lichen-covered chestnut fencing on the Pixie Path to Mill Hill. Fred had seen Common Lizards earlier this year on the Riverbank by the houseboats and he spotted a flurry of movement about midday.

11 March 2007 At least 21 adult Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis, were spotted on the flint wall of the Old Fort, Shoreham Beach, basking in the sunshine and displaying far more energy that I had ever seen before with one lizard skittering right up to the top of the wall.

About five of the lizards were smaller juveniles. All the lizards had intact tails. The numbers were thought of as less lizards than there were because of continual human disturbance.  With an air temperature of 14.4 ºC at 1:53 pm it was the warmest day of the year so far.

3 May 2006 At least ten adult Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis, were spotted on the Old Fort, Shoreham Beach, and they were very skittish, none of them appearing much larger than Common Lizards, Lacerta vivipara, and nine of them a fairly bright green in colour. They seem to move in a more upright fashion less skulking and serpentine than the native lizards. All their tails were seen to be intact as they skittered rapidly over the flint wall or pebbles to the crevice holes. The lizards were widespread along the west and south facing flint walls. A colony of Meadow Ants was noted and I thought I heard the rustle of another lizard nearby.

I made the following observations about the Wall Lizards:

(1)  Although I could not discern the longer legs by observation I discerned a different mode of skittering around with the body held higher off the ground and capable of the the position in the picture on the left which I have never seen in a Common Lizard.

(2)  The green colouring was no help. Both species of local lizard could be equally green.

(3)  Habitat was no help. Both species could be found on the frequent flint walls locally. The Wall Lizard  has not yet been discovered in grassy habitats, although it was found more often with at least some vegetation on Shoreham Beach.

(4)  The preference for running along walls (even along the foot of the walls) has not been seen in the Common Lizard.

(5)  There must be instant ways of recognizing the two lizards, but I have not mastered them yet. The heads and faces may be slightly different.
 

"Wall" Lizard from the Old Fort, Shoreham Beach Photograph by Andy Horton	"Common" Lizard from Lancing Ring Photograph by Brenda Collins
Wall Lizard  Podarcis muralis	Common (or Viviparous) Lizard, Lacerta vivipara

Lizard from the Pixie Path near Mill Hill	The identical lizard: it may have lost part of its tail and regrown it by a process called autotomy.

cf.  Wall Wizard from Portland Bill (image)
 
 

• 1. Wall Lizards have slightly larger heads and longer legs than Common Lizards
• 2. They often have very thin bands with alternating black and white sections on their tails (like rings around the tail but only apparent down the sides of the tail, not all round)
• 3. The Lizards in this (Shoreham Beach) colony seem to have come from Northern Italy and have the bright green backs of the sub-species found there.
• 4. While Common Lizards prefer dense grassy or heathy habitat the Wall Lizard is strongly associated with dry stony habitat with a vertical component, and is often found basking high up on its wall (sometimes up on roof tops)
• 5.Finally, the scales on the Wall Lizard are smaller than those on a Common Lizard giving a smoother skinned effect (I don't know how noticeable this is!)

Notes:
 

• 1. They appear the same size in all respects.
• 2. This seems to apply to the "Wall" Lizard but not the Common Lizard and the line down the centre is much more clearly pronounced.
• 3. When seen in the wild the "Wall" Lizards have a hardly discernible green tinge, or some of them do.
• 4. The "Wall" Lizards occupy the habitat referred to, but they only occupy the lower levels and show a complete absence of basking on the higher levels usually within 30 cm on the grass below, and exceptionally one metre from the bottom of the wall, where a crevice is available.
• 5. The photographs are not good enough to tell, but the Common Lizard does look much smoother.

9 October 2005
A dark Common Lizard, Lacerta vivipara, was seen on a wooden pallet next to where the Water Shrew was seen before on the Slonk Hill Cutting. This lizard was not quite fully grown.

30 March 2004
Two lizards rapidly skittered into cover at the base of the flint walls south-east of the Toll Bridge amongst the grass on the river sunny side in mid-afternoon. These lizards appear to be the same species found at the Old Fort (Shoreham Beach) and I have penned these as the the Common (or Viviparous) Lizard, Lacerta vivipara. There were probably many more lizards but the old flint sea wall was a ruin with innumerable hiding places for small reptiles.
Adur Levels 2004

30 March 2004
Locally, they way be known as Wall Lizards because of their frequency of inhabiting old flint walls, and under the blue cloudless sky, over fifty (counted 38 avoiding duplicates and then estimated) lizards skittered up the extensive crumbling south and west facing flint walls of the Old Fort (Shoreham Beach) (TQ 234 046) with dexterity, very quickly (too quickly to photograph) after basking in the warmth of the morning sun.
There was one particularly large lizard and I would estimate its length (excluding its long tail) at 60 mm. Most were much smaller appearing about half the size at 40 mm.
All these lizards would drop into the grass or hide in a crevice if disturbed. They were only to be found near tufts of grass. Although they skittered over the vertical walls with ease, they only occupied the lower flint levels. All the lizards seen had their full tails.
Old Fort Photographs (More Lizard Images)

Postscript:  these lizards have now been definitely identified as the Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis.

These are only a small selection of the local lizard reports.

Lizards were present on the walls of the Old Fort in the 1960s.