Harmless · Native to Europe · Introduced in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana

Common wall lizard

Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768)

Locally called the “Lazarus lizard”
Data updated November 2026

Common wall lizard basking on an old limestone retaining wall, showing a brown back and mottled sides
Fig. 1 — Adult basking on a stone wall, the habitat that gives the species its name.
Close view of a common wall lizard's pointed head and mottled flank
Fig. 2 — A pointed head, long toes and darker mottling along the sides.

At a glance

A small, quick European lizard that has lived wild in Cincinnati since a boy released about ten of them in 1951. Today it swarms over stone walls, rocky hillsides and rubble around Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana, sometimes at more than a thousand lizards per acre. It is harmless to people.

01

Identification

Common wall lizards are slim, long-tailed lizards with a pointed head, long legs and long toes. The back is usually brown or gray, and the sides are mottled or spotted with darker markings; some individuals have a net-like (reticulated) pattern across the back as well. Their scales are small and dull rather than shiny. In the Ohio River valley they are most often seen as a blur darting across a rock wall or into a crack between stones.

  1. 01Slim and long-tailed. The tail makes up much of the length, and a lizard that has lost its tail regrows it.
  2. 02Brown or gray with mottled sides. Darker spots or blotches along the flanks; some have a net-like pattern on the back.
  3. 03Lives on walls. Usually seen on stone walls, rocky slopes, sidewalks and landscaping, often several at once.

Commonly confused with

Five-lined skinks share the same Ohio River hillsides, but they have smooth, glossy scales, shorter legs and (in young animals) bold stripes and a bright blue tail. Wall lizards look dry and finely scaled, with mottling instead of clean stripes.

02

Size

03 in6 in9 in1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft Typical adult · about 7 in (18 cm)

Adults are usually about 5½ to 8 inches (14–20 cm) long including the tail, and a few big animals have been reported at 9 to 10 inches. Researchers studying the Cincinnati population have found that the lizards there are getting larger and growing longer limbs, possibly an advantage when escaping house cats.

03

Range & habitat

Rocky, vegetated bank of the Ohio River with stone walls in the background
Fig. 3 — Rock walls, rubble and rocky riverbanks along the Ohio River are prime habitat.

The common wall lizard is native to central and southern Europe, where it lives on stone walls, house sides, ruins, rock piles, railway embankments and rocky hillsides, even in mountain resort towns. Introduced populations exist in British Columbia (including Vancouver Island), Great Britain and Poland, and in the United States around Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Cincinnati lizards trace back to 1951, when George Rau Jr., stepson of department-store founder Fred Lazarus Jr., brought about ten lizards home from a family trip to Lake Garda in northern Italy and released them. The whole Ohio population is thought to descend from as few as three of them, which is why locals call them “Lazarus lizards.” They have since spread through Cincinnati and its suburbs, have turned up in Columbus, and have colonized northern Kentucky towns such as Covington, Park Hills, Newport and Fort Thomas.

In Indiana, a colony found at Falls of the Ohio State Park in 2004 was removed between 2005 and 2007 and has not been seen since 2010. In July 2023, state biologists found a colony in Lawrenceburg, and colonies are now known in Aurora and Rising Sun in Dearborn and Ohio counties. These lizards favor stone and retaining walls, rubble heaps, limestone outcrops, old foundations, vacant lots, parks and yards, and in some neighborhoods they reach about 1,500 lizards per acre.

04

Diet & predators

Wall lizards are active hunters of small invertebrates. They take crickets, grasshoppers and other insects and spiders, and sometimes earthworms, often leaving the walls to hunt in nearby grass. In Cincinnati, house cats are their main predator, with birds and snakes also taking them. A grabbed lizard can drop its tail, which keeps wriggling while the lizard escapes.

Feeds on

  • Crickets and grasshoppers
  • Other insects and spiders
  • Earthworms

Preyed on by

  • House cats
  • Birds
  • Snakes
Field cricket on bare ground
Prey — crickets and other insects.
House cat crouching beside a stone wall
Predator — house cat.

05

Behavior & seasons

Wall lizards are active by day and spend much of it basking on warm rock, ready to dash into a crevice at the first sign of danger. They also cling easily to brick and stone walls. In Cincinnati parks they are often seen in groups, and they are easiest to spot on warm, sunny days, especially in late summer.

In winter they retreat underground or deep into the cracks of dry-stacked walls. They have come through record cold and snow in Ohio; research shows they can still right themselves at about 4°C (39°F) and survive brief freezing. Cincinnati’s lizards also carry very high levels of lead in their blood with little apparent harm, and scientists are studying possible genetic adaptations behind that.

06

Reproduction

Common wall lizards lay eggs, often under stones or in crevices. In Europe, mating takes place between about March and June, and females often lay two or three clutches a season, each of 2 to 11 eggs. That high reproductive output helps explain how a handful of released lizards could grow into tens of thousands of animals in the Cincinnati area.

07

Conservation

The common wall lizard is assessed as Least Concern globally, with stable populations across Europe, where it is one of the most successful lizards in human-made habitats. It is protected in Europe under Annex II of the Bern Convention and Annex IV of the EU Habitats Directive.

In North America it is non-native. Ohio wildlife officials regard the Cincinnati lizards as permanent residents. Indiana is still assessing how far they have spread and whether to manage them, and biologists there are watching whether they compete with native five-lined skinks for food and shelter. The Indiana DNR asks people to report sightings, ideally with photos.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated November 2026 · How we build these pages