Rock Lizards Wall Lizards and Relatives: Lacertidae

The wall and rock lizards, and their relatives, are small to medium-sized lizards with strong legs, especially the larger back pair, and usually very long tails. The typical wall or rock lizard has small beaded scales on its back and large square or rectangular scales on its belly. They come in many different colors and patterns from an almost entirely green or drab brown body to a bluish body with black blotches, a body split into a red front and black-and-white speckled back, or a black and cream striped body and red legs. Some species have brightly colored tails, which attract the attention of predators (PREH-duh-ters), or animals that hunt them for food. Fortunately, the lizards can easily drop their tails if they are attacked, allowing the lizard, minus its tail, to escape. In many species, the males have more spectacular colors than the females, and males in some species become even more brilliantly hued during the mating season.

The average adult grows to less than 8 inches (20 centimeters) long from head to tail, although a few species in this large family can reach 20 inches (50 centimeters) in length. Of their total length, much can be tail. In some species, such as the oriental six-lined runner, three-quarters of their overall length is tail.