First record of an Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) in British Columbia, Canada

Authors

  • Gavin F. Hanke Royal BC Museum
  • Guntram Deichsel

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v134i1.2483

Keywords:

British Columbia, first record, Italian Wall Lizard, introduced species, Podarcis siculus

Abstract

Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus) is known from scattered locations in the United States, including Orcas Island, Washington, where a population went unreported for about a decade, but was confirmed in 2017. On 19 June 2019, a single adult female P. siculus was caught in an industrial area along the northern arm of the Fraser River in Vancouver, British Columbia; this represents the first record of this species on the loose in Canada. No other P. siculus were sighted in the Vancouver area. We assume this Canadian P. siculus was a lone stow-away and had not deposited eggs. We could not determine how it entered the province.

Author Biography

Gavin F. Hanke, Royal BC Museum

Curator, Vertebrate Zoology

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Published

2020-07-08

Issue

Vol. 134 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Notes

License

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