---
title: "Green Lizard"
description: "Lacerta viridis — Reptiles. The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a large lizard distributed across European mid-latitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/green-lizard
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Green Lizard

> Lacerta viridis — Reptiles. The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a large lizard distributed across European mid-latitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey.

- Scientific name: *Lacerta viridis*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 13946
- Wikidata: [Q307047](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q307047)
- iNaturalist taxon: [35854](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/35854)

## Names

- en: Green Lizard
- de: Östliche Smaragdeidechse
- es: Lagarto Verde
- fr: Lézard vert oriental
- nl: Oostelijke smaragdhagedis
- pl: Jaszczurka zielona

## Countries with the most observations

AT (3361), HU (2282), CZ (1235), RO (1101), GR (789), UA (788), BG (695), HR (582), SK (531), RS (415), SI (270), DE (225)

## Summary

The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a large lizard distributed across European mid-latitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey. It is often seen sunning on rocks or lawns, or sheltering amongst bushes.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_green_lizard

## Photo

![Green Lizard](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/green-lizard/medium.jpg)

Photo: Zoltán Stekkelpak · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/350046783

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/green-lizard?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).