History and origin
The Common Wall lizard was first described by Laurenti in 1768, the scientific name of this species is Podarcis muralis, Podarcis from Greek meaning 'agile' and 'feet'. Muralis from Latin meaning 'wall'.

Characteristics
They are the most common lizard over it’s range. Living in urban areas as well as more wild places.

Description
=Size=
The eggs are around 10 x 5 mm when laid, but swell to reach 14 x 11 mm. They measure 15 to 30 mm long when they hatch. They can grow up to 100 - 150 mm in length (including tail). The tail is around about twice as long then the body.
=Morphology=
They are robust and have a long yet narrow pointed head, their limbs are long and sometimes quite slender, their tail is quite long, sometimes up to twice the size of the body.
=Patterns & colours=
They vary quite a bit in pattern, from brownish-greens to browns with spots and blotches of all sorts (see photo and more photos). Males are more marked then Females who are often uniform with maybe a line running down the back.

Geographical range
They are found throughout France, Switzerland, western Germany, most of Italy, the Balkan peninsula... In Spain they are present along the northern coast and in the Pyrenees.

Subspecies
- breviceps - Found in southern Italy.
- brogniardii - Found over the French Atlantic coast and along the Spanish Atlantic coast.
- maculiventris - Found in northern Italy & NW Croatia.
- merremia - Found in extreme south eastern France and in north western Italy.
- muralis - Found over most of the range, generally in centrale Europe (Germany, France and Switzerland).
- nigriventris - Found in western Italy to S Naples.

Sexual differences
The females are usually more distinctively marked.

Seasonal variations
None.

Diet
The Common wall lizards feed on insects of all sorts, they are entirety insectivores.

Defensive habits
They flee at the first sign of danger. When they are disturbed they run into a hole in a wall or into the stones of their habitat. If caught this lizard is very defenseless.

Reproduction
Breeding occurs when they wake up from hibernation in spring. They usually lay between 2 to 10 eggs laid in rock cracks, under stones, they develop for around 6 to 11 weeks. The eggs usually hatch out in July. Females may lay up to 3 clutches of eggs but only 1 in altitude.

Sexual maturity, life span
The average life span for Podarcis muralis is about 7 years. They reach their sexual maturity in their second year.

Habits
Active by day. They are very common and often seen in family groups sun bathing on a garden wall, they are cautious lizards, hiding when they feel that you're getting too close, but at the same time they are fearless as they will reappear even if you are in eyes range of them. It appears that in a family group the there is a larger dominant male who seems to keep everything in order and often runs after the smaller juveniles. Lives among other lizards of the same species. This species is very smart, they have been observed sitting in their hole/burrow, in the shadows, and once they detect a slight sound or vibration from just outside of this hole or burrow, they scurry out in a very agile fashion and if the noise is being produced by an insect, then they catch it and this is how they hunt, but they also hunt by sight and not always by hiding in their holes, I often enjoy making a noise with my finger nail on the stone outside of a specimens hole and watch him hesitate to come out as I am there and he can see me, note: larger males come out whilst smaller specimens and juveniles tend to be a lot more cautious or scared.

Habitat
Found at under 2200 m altitude. They are much more common near human habitations, on sunny walls, on window seals, tree trunks, garden walls, rock piles etc...

Predators
They are eaten by many other animals, mainly birds and snakes but also cats, other mammals and large insects such as scorpions, spiders...