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Male sand lizard with ocelli on the flank

Conspicuous ocelli with brown edge and white centre line the flank.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)

The SAND LIZARD's body is bulky, head short, wide and deep. Total length (body+tail) 20-23 cm. Back pattern similar in males and females: mid-dorsal band of dark blotches flanked on either side by lighter, beige stripe. Flanks of females greyish brown with darkly framed light rings (ocelli). Those of males green or yellowish, becoming brighter in breeding season, with black speckles or ocelli similar to those in females. Some males have rusty or brick-red dorsal band. Belly usually yellow, green or bluish green with black speckles. Young brownish with ocelli on the sides, and yellow or bluish green belly.

Distibution map by our National Herpetological Mapping Program:

Male sand lizard on the hunt

Sand lizards are more often encountered hunting on wet meadows than on dry grasslands.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)

Portrait of male sand lizard

Medium size lizard, easily confusable with the green lizard.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)

Sand lizard with brick-red dorsal band

In some populations "red backed" specimens are common.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)

Young sand lizard

Broken tails regenerate.

(Photo: Judit Vörös)

Male (left) and female (right)

In the sand lizard sexual dichromatism is conspicuous.

(Photo: Gergely Babocsay)

Male sand lizard

Its characteristic feature is the dark brown dorsal band with light blotches.

(Photo: Nikola Rahmé)

Female sand lizard

Its coloration is duller than that of males, but the pattern is rather unique among the lizards in Hungary.

(Photo: Nikola Rahmé)

Femoral pores of a male sand lizard

Males wear protruding pores along the ventral side of the thigh.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)

Young sand lizard with abnormally regenerated forked tail

"Two-tailedness" is a result of a regeneration process that went wrong.

(Photo: Bálint Halpern)