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Id this Lizard

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    #32
    recedite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,993 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    Alun wrote: »
    Here's one I found a few years back up in the general area of Black Hill / Mullaghcleevaun. Not a hot day by any means, and certainly not dry either ...
    Seems like a sunny day, all the same.

    Looks like this little fella has lost his tail previously, to a predator.


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    #33
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,469 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    recedite wrote: »
    Water - well they are not aquatic, but they can swim if they fall in, so I don't think its really a factor one way or the other.

    Heat - maybe. The surface of a bog can get very hot in summer, as can sandy areas around the coast. More so than grassland or forest.
    Mountain on the other hand (even mountain bog) tends to be a cooler place.
    We're probably at the extreme end of the range for reptiles, temperature wise.
    Also as these are viviparous, the females presumably might need a certain number of decent basking days to develop their young inside.
    All these places are unshaded, could that be it?

    Or to put it another way, high in solar radiation.

    Maybe lizards are a bit like solar panels - they don't just like the sun, they need to get as much sun as possible.

    They can't really swim in deep water for any length, their feet/paws aren't webbed, they tend to get exhausted and drown, if they don't find something to cling to. If they fall into water, their temperature drops, too, and they find it hard to move until they've warmed up again (provided they don't drown! And I know this from direct experience, as any lizard I rescued from the water butt I had to warm up in my hands and with my breath to get it moving again, and only when warm again would it zoom away). Being cold-blooded, yes, they do need sunshine/heat, however I don't know what's their "minimum operating temperature", for lack of a better expression.


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    #34
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    recedite wrote: »
    Interesting, so we seem to have mountain, bog and cliffs/coastal dunes as their preferred habitats.
    I think its also fair to say they are absent from most of the land mass of this country. Unlike, say frogs, which are found almost everywhere.
    So what could the limiting factor for lizards be?
    And what do the above habitats have in common?
    They have, according to survey results I have here, a range of habitats, from woodland, marshes, heath, moors, bogs, mountain, and sand-dunes to landfill dumps.
    You could just as easily say pine martens or stoats or badgers are absent from most of the land mass. Every species is limited by some factors including habitat, food sources, or humidity/climate. Lizards are classed in Ireland as "widespread distribution" and as LC (least concern). They are without a doubt under recorded and are, I feel, more common and widespread than you imagine.


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    #35
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    New Home wrote: »
    They can't really swim in deep water for any length, their feet/paws aren't webbed, they tend to get exhausted and drown, if they don't find something to cling to. If they fall into water, their temperature drops, too, and they find it hard to move until they've warmed up again (provided they don't drown! And I know this from direct experience, as any lizard I rescued from the water butt I had to warm up in my hands and with my breath to get it moving again, and only when warm again would it zoom away). Being cold-blooded, yes, they do need sunshine/heat, however I don't know what's their "minimum operating temperature", for lack of a better expression.

    A book I have states " It may also enter water bodies to hunt". But, like all reptiles the exertion tires them quickly and requires considerable time to recover from lactic acid build up.


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    #36
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,432 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Maxwell Nutty Vice wrote: »
    They are without a doubt under recorded and are, I feel, more common and widespread than you imagine.
    I always try and remember to report any I see.


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    #37
    forgottenhills
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭forgottenhills


    recedite wrote: »
    Interesting, so we seem to have mountain, bog and cliffs/coastal dunes as their preferred habitats.
    I think its also fair to say they are absent from most of the land mass of this country. Unlike, say frogs, which are found almost everywhere.
    So what could the limiting factor for lizards be?
    And what do the above habitats have in common?

    I have never heard any members of the farming community I know talking about seeing lizards on farmland, and these are people that are out on their land every day. As you say they seem to be mainly present in rough areas such as bogs, woods, dunes or mountains. Perhaps this could be due to them having to stay close to deep cover to hide from predators such as cats, dogs, foxes, magpies etc which might stay away from the very roughest areas?


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    #38
    recedite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,993 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    Cats. You could be onto something there alright.


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    #39
    fred funk }{
    Registered Users Posts: 6,827 ✭✭✭fred funk }{


    Is it possible some people are confusing newts with lizards?. They're similar.


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    #40
    forgottenhills
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭forgottenhills


    fred funk }{ wrote: »
    Is it possible some people are confusing newts with lizards?. They're similar.

    Could be, particularly if they are seeing "lizards" in water.


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    #41
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    fred funk }{ wrote: »
    Is it possible some people are confusing newts with lizards?. They're similar.

    Minimal impact on records.


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    #42
    Birdie Num Num
    Registered Users Posts: 1,252 ✭✭✭Birdie Num Num


    forgottenhills wrote: »
    Could be, particularly if they are seeing "lizards" in water.

    I’ve never seen a common lizard in water and never seen a newt out of water. The only lizard I have seen in the wild in Ireland was effectively on farmland or at least a garden surrounded by farmland on the edge of suburbs.


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    #43
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Birdie Num Num wrote: »
    I’ve never seen a common lizard in water and never seen a newt out of water. The only lizard I have seen in the wild in Ireland was effectively on farmland or at least a garden surrounded by farmland on the edge of suburbs.

    Newts are widespread out of water when it's not the breeding season - much like frogs. That said, those actively researching and recording lizards certainly know the difference between nets and lizards.


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    #44
    Stigura
    Registered Users Posts: 3,413 ✭✭✭Stigura


    Dated 11th September 2006. Found in my living room. Allowed to wander onto a sheet of paper for the shot:

    Smooth-Newttn.jpg


    I've had some other pond life in my living room. But, one shouldn't speak ill of the dead.


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    #45
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 38,976 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    Where is your living room???


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    #46
    Stigura
    Registered Users Posts: 3,413 ✭✭✭Stigura


    All around me, as I type this! :eek:


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