Contribution to the knowledge on distribution of Horvath's rock lizard Iberolacerta horvathi (Méhely, 1904) in Slovenia, new records from Pokljuka

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NATURA SLOVENIAE 22(2): 83-84 Prejeto / Received: 4. 10. 2020
FIELD NOTE Sprejeto / Accepted: 20. 10. 2020
Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2020
Contribution to the knowledge
on distribution of Horvath's
rock lizard
Iberolacerta
horvathi
(Méhely, 1904) in
Slovenia, new records from
Pokljuka
Prispevek k poznavanju razširjenosti
Horvatove kuščarice
Iberolacerta
horvathi
(Méhely, 1904) v Sloveniji, novi
podatki za Pokljuko
Katja KONC, Nad žago 12, SI-4201 Zgornja
Besnica, Slovenia; E-mail: konckatja@gmail.com
The known distribution of Horvath’s rock lizard
(
Iberolacerta horvathi
) in Slovenia is limited to the
Julian Alps, Trnovski gozd, Snežnik plateau and
Dinaric mountains (Krofel et al. 2009, Vek et al.
2019). Data on newly discovered occurrence
localities, gathered in recent years, show that the
distribution of Horvath’s rock lizard has not yet been
fully explored and that thorough data, as put by Vek
et al. (2019), are still missing especially for the
Alpine areas.
On 15. 8. 2020, three Horvath’s rock lizards were
discovered in the Pokljuka Gorge (»Pokljuška
soteska«) at approximately 800 m a.s.l. Two
individuals were observed on a rocky wall near the
entrance of the cave called »Pokljuška luknja«
(Slovene cave registry No. 2771, WGS84
coordinates: N 46.3766°, E 14.0327°). Both lizards
were photographed and identified as Horvath’s rock
lizard – the two scales above nostrils were
separated, which was visible in the photos (Fig. 1),
among other signs. Horvath’s rock lizard’s dorsal
colour is greyish or brown. The belly is usually light
in colour. On each side of the head, the supranasal
scale is elongated towards the back and touches the
loreal scale (Mršić 1997, Speybroeck et al. 2016).
One lizard was captured by hand and photographed
from up close (Fig. 1). Both lizards were adults and
the one captured was a female. It was a sunny day,
around 10 AM, and the lizards were sunbathing on
the rocky wall that was partially covered by grassy
patches.
Figure 1. A female Horvath's rock lizard (
I. horvathi
)
from Pokljuka Gorge, Slovenia (photo: K. Konc).
Slika 1. Samica horvatove kuščarice (
I. horvathi
) iz
Pokljuške soteske, Slovenija (foto: K. Konc).
Around 100 meters into the forest, the third
individual was found on a steep bank above the
path (WGS84 coordinates: N 46.3772°,
E 14.0332°). The tree canopies prevented sunlight
to reach the ground directly, and due to the gorge
below, the whole area was slightly damp. In close
proximity to the Horvath’s rock lizard, another lizard
species was found – the viviparous lizard (
Zootoca
vivipara
). Both lizards were photographed from afar
(Fig. 2). Both species were identified based on the
specific morphological characteristics, clearly visible
from the photo.
The closest known records of Horvath’s rock lizard
are from Mrzli studenec, around 5 km southwest
from the Pokljuka Gorge (De Luca 1989). According
to Speybroeck et al. (2016), Horvath’s rock lizards
are usually found in rocky terrain, often in forested
areas and close to a source of water.
The common wall lizard (
Podarcis muralis
) and
I. horvathi
display an overall similarity in
morphology and ecology (Osojnik et al. 2013).
Žagar et al. (2015) suggest that both lizard species
occupy sun-exposed gaps in a forested landscape,
both exhibiting an altitudinal segregation pattern
with a high zone of overlap at middle altitudes. In
addition,
I. horvathi
reaches highest densities at
high altitudes and
P. muralis
at low altitudes with a
broad zone of distributional overlap between the
species. Osojnik et al. (2013) have ascertained that
I. horvathi
occupies areas with more damp, humid,
and shaded microhabitats than
P. muralis
of the

84 Katja KONC: Contribution to the knowledge on distribution of Horvath's rock lizard in Slovenia
.... / FIELD NOTE
NATURA SLOVENIAE 22(2): 83-84
same regions. Speybroeck et al. (2016) suggest that
I. horvathi
prefers steeper rock faces or cliffs than
P. muralis
.
Figure 2. Horvath's rock lizard (
I. horvathi
) (below) and
viviparous lizard (
Z. vivipara
) (on top) from Pokljuka
Gorge, Slovenia (photo: K. Konc).
Slika 2. Horvatova kuščarica (
I. horvathi
) (spodaj) in
živorodna kuščarica (
Z. vivipara
) (zgoraj) iz Pokljuške
soteske, Slovenija (foto: K. Konc).
Although
I. horvathi
has already been known from
Pokljuka (De Luca 1989, Petras Sackl et al. 2013),
the novel findings demonstrate that the area is still
insufficiently explored and emphasize the need for
a further systematic research.
References
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