Species:

Podarcis erhardii  (BEDRIAGA, 1882)

Subspecies (20):

Podarcis erhardii erhardii  (BEDRIAGA, 1882)

Podarcis erhardii amorgensis  (WERNER, 1933)

Podarcis erhardii biinsulicola  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii buchholzi  (WETTSTEIN, 1956)

Podarcis erhardii kinarensis  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii levithensis  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii livadiacus  (WERNER, 1902)

Podarcis erhardii makariaisi  (WETTSTEIN, 1956)

Podarcis erhardii megalophthenae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii mykonensis  (WERNER, 1933)

Podarcis erhardii naxensis  (WERNER, 1899)

Podarcis erhardii ophidusae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii pachiae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii phytiusae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii riveti  (CHABANAUD, 1919)

Podarcis erhardii ruthveni  (WERNER, 1930)

Podarcis erhardii subobscurus  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii syrinae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Podarcis erhardii thermiensis  (WERNER, 1935)

Podarcis erhardii zafranae  (WETTSTEIN, 1937)

Population (1):

Podarcis erhardii Santorin Population 

Synonyms:

Lacerta uralis subsp. fusca var. erhardii  BEDRIAGA, 1882

Podarcis erhardi  ENGELMANN et al, 1993

Common names:

Erhard’s Wall Lizard (English)
Ägäische Mauereidechse (German)
Kykladen-Mauereidechse (German)
Σιλιβούτι (Greek)

Taxonomic notes:

In this species, too, a vast number of subspecies have been described on the basis of completely inadequate material (especially by WETTSTEIN). Although two molecular analyses of this species are available, the authors have avoided drawing taxonomic conclusions from their results. The subspecies are therefore listed in full. The populations of Crete and its marginal islands as well as two islets north of the island of Andikithira (between the Peloponnese and Crete) were separated from P. erhardii as independent species (P. cretensis and P. levendis).

WERNER MAYER, 2015

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Bedriaga, J. von (1882) -  Die Amphibien und Reptilien Griechlands. 195 pp. -  Moscow, 1882  

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• Wettstein, O. (1953) -  Herpetologia aegaea. -  Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse. Wien, Abteilung 1, 162 (9/10): 651-833.   

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• Poulakakis, N. & Lymberakis, P. & Antoniou, A. & Chalkia, D. & Zouros, E. & Mylanos, M. & Valakos, E. (2003) -  Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the wall lizard Podarcis erhardii (Squamata: Lacertoidae). -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 28 (1): 38-46.    

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  Erhard’s wall lizard, Podarcis erhardii (Sauria: Lacertidae), is highly diversified in Greece and especially in the southern Aegean region. Out of the 28 recognized subspecies, 27 are found in Greece from the North Sporades island-complex in the North Aegean (grossly south of the 39th parallel) to the island of Crete in the South. The species exhibits great morphological and ecological plasticity and inhabits many different habitats from rocky islets and sandy shores to mountaintops as high as 2000 m. By examining intraspecific variability at a segment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b we have found that that extant populations of P. erhardii are paraphyletic. Furthermore, we have found that subspecies previously defined on the basis of morphological characteristics do not correspond to different molecular phylogenetic clades, so that their status should be reconsidered. The DNA based biogeographical and phylogenetic history of Podarcis in Southern Greece is congruent with available paleogeographic data of the region, which supports the view that DNA sequences may be a useful tool for the study of palaeogeography.

• Poulakakis, N. & Lymberakis, P. & Valakos, E. & Zouros, E. & Mylonas, M. (2005) -  Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Podarcis species from the Balkan Peninsula, by bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences.  -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37 (3): 845-857.    

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  Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis (Sauria, Lacertidae) comprise 17 currently recognized species in southern Europe, where they are the predominant nonavian reptile group. The taxonomy of Podarcis is complex and unstable. Based on DNA sequence data, the species of Podarcis falls into four main groups that have substantial geographic coherence (Western island group, southwestern group, Italian group, and Balkan Peninsula group). The Balkan Peninsula species are divided into two subgroups: the subgroup of P.taurica (P. taurica, P. milensis, P. gaigeae, and perhaps P. melisellensis), and the subgroup of P. erhardii (P. erhardii and P. pelo- ponnesiaca). In the present study, the question of phylogenetic relationships among the species of Podarcis encountered in the Balkan Peninsula was addressed using partial mtDNA sequences for cytochrome b (cyt b) and 16S rRNA (16S). The data support the mono- phyly of Podarcis and suggest that there are three phylogenetic clades: the clade A (P. taurica, P. gaigeae, P. milensis, and P. melisell- ensis); the clade B (P. erhardii and P. peloponnesiaca), and the clade C (P. muralis and P. sicula). By examining intraspeciWc relationships it was found that extant populations of P. erhardii are paraphyletic. Furthermore, subspecies previously deWned on the basis of morphological characteristics do not correspond to diVerent molecular phylogenetic clades, suggesting that their status should be reconsidered. The distinct geographic distribution of the major clades of the phylogenetic tree and its topology suggest a spatial and temporal sequence of phylogenetic separations that coincide with some major paleogeographic separations during the geological history of the Aegean Sea. The results stress the need for a reconsideration of the evolutionary history of Balkan Podarcis species and help overcome diYculties that classical taxonomy has encountered at both the species and subspecies level.

• Lymberakis, P. & Poulakakis, N. & Kaliontzopoulou, A. & Valakos, E. & Mylonas, M. (2008) -  Two new species of Podarcis (Squamata; Lacertidae) from Greece. -  Systematics and Biodiversity, 6 (3): 307–318.    

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  Recently, several works have focused on the lacertid lizards of the genus Podarcis, revealing cases of hidden diversity and paraphyly, and offering evidence that suggests the revision of the extant taxonomical arrangements within the genus. Hidden diversity and paraphyly have been shown to exist in the relationships betweentheBalkan species P. peloponnesiacaandP. erhardii as well. Herewecouple a molecular (mtDNA) dataset with a corresponding morphological one, consisting of morphometric and pholidotic characters, to check for concordance between the two. Phylogenetic analyses reinforced previous suggestions for paraphyly of P. erhardii with respect to P. peloponnesiaca.We found the variation of certain pholidotic characters concordant with the relationships inferred from partial mtDNA sequences, whereas morphometric characters were not. The latter is possibly due to greater influence of morphometric characters by environmental factors. To avoid the observed paraphyly we proceed with the description of the populations from Crete and the islet of Pori, until now designated as P. erhardii, as separate taxa at the species level.

• Hurston, H. & Voith, L. & Bonanno, J. & Foufopoulos, J. & Pafilis, P. & Valakos, E. & Anthony, N. (2009) -  Effects of fragmentation on genetic diversity in island populations of the Aegean wall lizard Podarcis erhardii (Lacertidae, Reptilia). -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 52 (2): 395-405.    

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  Landbridge islands offer unique opportunities for understanding the effects of fragmentation history on genetic variation in island taxa. The formation of islands by rising sea levels can be likened to a population bottleneck whose magnitude and duration is determined by island area and time since isolation, respectively. The Holocene landbridge islands of the Aegean Sea (Greece) were formed since the last glacial maximum and constitute an ideal system for disentangling the effects of island area, age and geographic isolation on genetic variability. Of the many reptile species inhabiting this island system, the Aegean wall lizard Podarcis erhardii is an excellent indicator of fragmentation history due to its widespread distribution and poor over-water dispersal abilities. In this study, we utilize a detailed record of Holocene fragmentation to investigate the effects of island history on wall lizard mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite diversity. Findings show that the spatial distribution of mitochondrial haplotypes reflects historical patterns of fragmentation rather than geographic proximity per se. In keeping with neutral bottleneck theory, larger and younger islands retain more nuclear genetic variation than smaller, older islands. Conversely, there is no evidence of an effect of isolation by distance or effect of distance to the nearest larger landmass on genetic variability, indicating little gene flow between islands. Lastly, population-specific measures of genetic differentiation are inversely correlated with island area, suggesting that smaller islands exhibit greater divergence due to their greater susceptibility to drift. Taken together, these results suggest that both island area and time since isolation are important predictors of genetic variation and that these patterns likely arose through the progressive fragmentation of ancestral diversity and the ensuing cumulative effects of drift.