p_alves's Favorites

Endemic La Gomera and El Hierro I read in a book Boettgers Lizard is introduced to the Botanical Gardens of Funchal. I tried to find it, and I can not say wether one of my shots was a success. However, please look carefully. If considert the lizards here darker than anywhere else on Madeira. And I tried hard, so I will upload some more lizards from around that place.

Endemic La Gomera and El Hierro I read in a book Boettgers Lizard (Gallotia caesaris) is introduced to the Botanical Gardens of Funchal. I tried to find it, and I can not say wether one of my shots was a success. However, please look carefully. If considert the lizards here darker than anywhere else on Madeira. And I tried hard, so I will upload some more lizards from around that place.

Endemic La Gomera and El Hierro I read in a book Boettgers Lizard is introduced to the Botanical Gardens of Funchal. I tried to find it, and I can not say wether one of my shots was a success. However, please look carefully. If considert the lizards here darker than anywhere else on Madeira. And I tried hard, so I will upload some more lizards from around that place.

@pdubois @bbinsecte @harvestman-man @flight69
Hello, I was astonished to read some of the posts regarding this species "a", if that is indeed the species I have here. Having lived in Serra de Sao Mamede of eastern Portugal for 7 years I assumed that everybody knew about these, and that they were common everywhere in Portugal. They are absolutely abundant here and certainly have been for at least 30 years but maybe much longer, or always. They form huge clusters of hundreds of individuals in dark, preferably damp places, and bounce their bodies rapidly if disturbed by light or movement. They swarm into houses at night, frequently running over your own body. Every rural property in this area has them, even the castle at Marvao. My personal colony spends the daylight hours on the walls in my water well, but I've also seen colonies under overhanging rocks on the River Sever.
I would not be at all surprised if the Sao Mamede is the source of the north European invasion - many tourists from France, Netherlands, Belgium etc come here by car and campervan, and I would think it almost impossible not to take some passengers back home, the harvestmen are so abundant in summer, though numbers vary year to year.
I had always assumed this was Leiobunum lusitanicum. If there is any information on this I'd be glad to receive it, or if I can provide further information I'd be happy to do so.