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Viviparous lizard
Zootoca vivipara
59.6138, 17.0577
Field Notes
Description:
This lizard was quite curious and I was able to come pretty close to it. The colour and patterning of this species is remarkably variable. The main colour is typically medium brown, but it can be also grey, olive brown or black. Females may have dark stripes on their flanks and down the middle of their backs. Sometimes females also have light-coloured stripes, or dark and light spots along the sides of their backs.
Habitat:
A wooden pier thing over some reeds and wetland
Notes:
The name of the species is derived from its ability to give birth to live young, an adaptation to a cool climate, but some southern populations are oviparous. The lizard lacks teeth in the palate, so when eating larger insects It shakes them in its jaws before chewing it and swallowing it whole.
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