No ordinary lizard.

  
Top image: the colour and pattern varies considerably between different P.erhardii subspecies, particularly in males.

Bottom image: the different colour P.erhardii patterns vary between different island environments in the Aegean Sea.

Up to 25 subspecies of P.erhardii are abundant and widespread throughout the Greek islands, particularly in the Cyclades and northern Sporades island groups.

The colour and pattern of these subspecies varies considerably, particularly in males (see image above for examples), as described by Arnold and Ovenden (2002) in their "Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain & Europe":

Here [the Aegean islands] there is considerable variation in size (up to 8cm from snout to vent), shape (robustness, length of limbs, tail-thickness) and colouring. Ground [dorsal] colour may be brown, grey, green, or very dark black-brown. Pattern varies: in extreme cases can be reticulated, or dark markings reduced, confined to front of the body, or completely absent. Underside [throat] colour may be white, grey, yellow, red, greenish, bluish and sometimes hind parts are more strongly coloured than the rest.  

The different subspecies are found on different islands (as illustrated above in the Cyclades islands) showing variation in morphology and colour patterns between different island environments.

This is a brilliant study system which can be used to investigate many exciting evolutionary questions...

Introducing...

Female Erhard's wall-lizard Podarcis erhardii. Image source: Kate Marshall

... the Erhard's wall-lizard (Podarcis erhardii). 

The grandly-named German herpetologist, Dr Jacques Vladimir von Bedriaga, first described this lizard in the very first monograph of Greek herpetology, "Die Amphibien und Reptilien Griechenlands" (1882). 

Like my sharp-minded friend Alex, you may be wondering why it wasn't named Bedriaga's wall-lizard instead.

Well, let me and the widely-read Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles (2011) enlighten you:-

This lizard was first named after another, not so grandly-named German naturalist, Dr. D. Erhard. He spent many very happy years killing describing animals in the Greek Cyclades islands and wrote "Fauna der Cycladen" (1858).

Translation: "Fauna of the Cyclades islands"  for those less proficient in the German language.

History lesson over, we can now turn to the juicy stuff. 

And introducing me, Kate Marshall. Hello.

After another 3-4 years of studying Erhard's wonderful wall-lizard, you may have to start calling me Dr Marshall. Exciting.