Did you know that Long Island is home to a growing population of lizards?
Origins/history
This right here is an example of an Italian wall Lizard. They are well established in the western parts of Long Island and some isolated pockets of the NY metro area as far north as the bronx. The Italian wall lizard is not native to New York and originates from the Mediterranean area. The population that now resides on Long Island is believed to have come from Rome, Italy in the year 1967. They were once very popular in the pet trade are believed to be originally introduced in the Town of Hempstead.
Escapees
Lizards are quite the escape artists with their lightning fast speed, and if they do get caught their tails are designed to fall off to evade capture
Size
Italian wall lizards fully grown are typically 5-8 inches , while Juveniles can be much smaller 2-3 inches on average.
Coloration
These Lizards are typically light brown with green coloration from their neck about half way to three quarters down there body
Italian wall lizards are one of four lizard species that reside in NY. I was very surprised when I saw these lizards at first. I saw about 20-30 of these in a single backyard!
For Further reading on these lizards :
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