Highly variable in coloration and pattern. Males are
typically bright green with black speckling on the back and light
spots on the head and a blue throat. Females are brown to green
and may have blotches on the back, or may have up to four
narrow light lines along the sides of its body. Juveniles start off
uniformly brown with a few light spots or lines along the body
and gradually reach adult coloration.
Adults are normally 150- 280 mm (6-11 inches) in total length. The largest specimen from
Kansas is a male (FHSM 7927) from Shawnee County with snout-vent length of 105 mm and total length of 320
mm (12¾ inches) collected by James Gubanyi and Carl Michaels on 22 April 2002. The maximum total length throughout native range is 450.9 mm (17¾ inches) (Corti and Cascio, 2002).
Native to western and central Europe, this large lizard has been
established in a small area of Topeka since at least 1973. Unlike the Italian Wall Lizard, there is little evidence to show that this species is expanding its range.
It prefers
areas of heavier vegetation, with plenty of exposed basking sites.
They primarily eat invertebrates, but larger individuals may take
fruit and even hatchling birds.
First reported from Kansas by Collins (1974). The oldest existing specimen is (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute [KUH 153040]) collected on 22 June 1973 in south Topeka.
This non-native species is found only within the city limits of Topeka, Shawnee County.
References
Daudin, Francois M. 1802 "1801". Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds. [Natural history of tree frogs, frogs and toads.] Quarto version. de L'imprimerie de Bertrandet, Rue de Sorbonne, Paris, France. 468 pp.
Ortenburger, Arthur I. 1928. The whip snakes and racers: Genera Masticophis and Coluber. Memiors of the University of Michigan Museum (1):1-247.
Collins, Joseph T. 1974. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (1):283 pp.
Smith, Hobart M. and Anthony J. Kohler. 1977. A survey of herpetological introductions in the United States and Canada. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 80(1/2):241-.
Collins, Joseph T. 1982. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. 2nd edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (8).
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Collins, Joseph T. and Suzanne L. Collins. 1993. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Third Edition. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. 397 pp.
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Miller, Larry L. 1997. Topeka Collegiate School summer research class yields specimen of Green Lacerta. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (109):13.
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Gubanyi, James E. 2000. A breeding colony of Western Green Lacerta (Lacerta bilineata) confirmed in southwestern Topeka (Kansas). Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 103(3-4):191-192.
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Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2019. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192 pp.
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