Carpetane rock lizard  (Iberolacerta cyreni)

Due to the cold temperatures in the Carpetane rock lizard’s mountainous habitat, the main period of activity occurs during the warmer months between the end of March or April until the beginning of October. Activity peaks during the mating period, which occurs between the second fortnight of May and first of June in Guadarrama (2). Clutches of three to ten eggs are laid from July to August (1) (2). The size and weight of the clutch typically increase with the size of the female. After an incubation period of 45 to 52 days, young hatch from the second fortnight of August to September. Sexual maturity is reached at 48 millimetres head-body length in males and at 53 millimetres in females (2).

Adult males defend territories, with a high degree of overlap between the ranges of neighbouring males causing frequent antagonistic confrontations. While these adult males mate with the females within their territory, younger subordinate males adopt an alternative strategy in which, without a territory of their own, they try to copulate with females within the territories of other males. Where high densities of males exist, a hierarchy is formed in which the most dominant tend to be the oldest, largest individuals. However, within individuals of similar size it is the relative size of the head, which is used in fights, that determines a male’s position in the hierarchy. Males that have lost their tails to predators avoid participating in confrontations, have a lower status within the dominance hierarchy and generally court fewer females. Likewise, females without tails are less frequently courted (2).

The Carpetane rock lizard is a generalist predator that feeds on insects and their larvae, spiders and other arthropods (2).