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.
