Despite some effort being put into searching for reptiles and amphibians - our list remains short and covers only the most easily encountered species. No snakes were seen, tortoises remained a mystery to us and out of the three gecko species present on the island (Coghlan, S. 2001; cretanbeaches.com 2018) only one was successfully seen and identified.
Such a dismal list is undoubtedly the result of a combination of factors incl. time of + effort of searches; habitat; size of area and locations visited; access to habitat; individual bias i.e. we got very good at spotting Cretan wall lizard (Podarcis cretensis); seasonal affects; possible misidentification; disturbance.
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) - Vamos |
This juvenile Balkan green lizard was the only individual noted of this species. It was observed crossing a farm track on the outskirts of Vamos .. and was obliging enough to freeze momentarily for the camera.
Arnold and Ovendon (2004) describe a single sub-species of Balkan green lizard inhabiting Crete Lacerta trilineata polylepidota. However, cretanbeaches.com (ibid) states that two sub-species are present. Both the former Lacerta t. polylepidota as well as Lacerta t. trilineata.
The Cretan wall lizard is the only endemic species of lizard on the island - enjoying a taxonomic split from Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) as recently as 2008 (Wikipedia 2018). This species of lizard was by far our most commonly encountered reptile, seen throughout our travels and only seemingly excluded from areas of close human habitation where the ubiquity of the feral domestic cat (Felis catus) may well have suppressed the population?
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| Cretan wall lizard |
Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) was noted in small numbers at Georgioupolis Lake - too far away for photographs - stacked as they were like a pile of abandoned dinner plates on a distant muddy foreshore.
A very flat and very dead green toad (Bufo viridis) was found on the farm track to the south of Vamos which leads into the next valley.
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| green toad (deceased) |
The Turkish gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) was the only gecko species successfully recorded on the trip - three individuals being seen on various walls around the Arosmari Village Hotel
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| Turkish gecko |
The small Turkish gecko in hand (above) was rescued from the clutches of a local moggy, its tail had been lost. However, with the stump being both clean and dry it looked as if the loss had occurred somewhat prior to the most recent cat encounter.
Close examination of this tiny survivor also nailed the ID as Turkish gecko - the adhesive pads on it's toes being "not extend[ed] to the toe-tips and are divided beneath" as per Arnold and Ovendon (ibid).
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| Turkish gecko - adhesive pad detail |
A probable ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) was disturbed on a farmland waste above Vamos - the briefest of views - but it had a distinctly different Jizz from the other reptiles encountered.
Bibliography
Arnold, N. & Ovendon D. (2004) 2nd Edition A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe Collins, Harper Collins Publishers, London
cretanbeaches.com (2018) [Online] Explore Cretan Fauna Available at: https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-and-animal-species Accessed 21st December 2018
Cochlan, S. (2001) Revised 5th Edition A Birdwatching Guide to Crete Arelquin Press, Essex
Wikipedia (2018) [Online] Podarcis cretensis Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podarcis_cretensis Accessed 21st December 2018
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