Sand lizard
Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758
The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a lizard in the family Lacertidae, order Squamata, within the reptiles. It is classed as tiny, with an adult body mass of 9.87 g and a body length of 7.91 cm.
Quick facts about the sand lizard
It has one clutch or litter per year with 5.8 young or eggs, an egg incubation period of 48 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. Its lifespan is 8.5 years, with up to 12 years reported, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 9.87 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 7.91 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 8.5 years – 12 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 48 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the sand lizard?
Photos of the sand lizard
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the sand lizard live?
Not recorded
What is the sand lizard?
The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a lacertid lizard. There are several subspecies, including L. a. agilis, L. a. argus, and L. a. exigua.
The sand lizard is distributed across most of Europe from the southern coast of Britain and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the northern extremes of the sand lizard's distribution, it survives by inhabiting seaside heathlands, where the ground temperature is elevated by the sun. The sand lizard uses warm sand to thermoregulate itself and to incubate its eggs.
Males are known for their bright coloration and aggressive, possessive behaviors when seasonally competing for females. In contrast to other squamates, the sand lizard's mating season is very short. Males choose mates selectively, whereas females mate more indiscriminately. Females usually lay only a single clutch of eggs per year.
Sand lizards spend most of their time basking, foraging, or under vegetation. They prefer to live in diverse habitats. They are largely solitary outside of mating season. Male sand lizards typically have larger territories than females, and they will compete with other males when territory overlaps. Females neighbour each other more amicably, occasionally sharing habitats.
Sand lizards may live up to ten years. Due to their longevity, they are sometimes prone to inbreeding.
From the Wikipedia article “Sand lizard” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sand_lizard&oldid=1380221823), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the sand lizard endangered?
The sand lizard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the sand lizard classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyLacertidae
- genusLacerta
- SpeciesLacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Lacerta agi euxinica, Lacerta agilis euxinica, Lacerta agilis euxinica, Lacerta agilis grusoni, Lacerta agilis spinalis, Lacerta agilis tauridica, Lacerta agilis tauridica, Lacerta agilis var. concolor, Lacerta agilis var. dilepis, Lacerta agilis var. kurtuana, Lacerta agilis var. orientalis, Lacerta boemica, Lacerta europaea, Lacerta paradoxa, Lacerta stirpium, Lacerta stirpium, Seps caerulescens, Seps ruber
Other names and names in other languages (59)
- llagartu áxilAsturian
- Sychrajan KertenkeleAzerbaijani
- Zauhoadax(erl)Bavarian
- Яшчарка порсткаяBelarusian
- Ливаден гущерBulgarian
- Sivi gušterBosnian
- Llangardaix pirinencCatalan
- ještěrka obecnáCzech
- Madfall y TywodWelsh
- Madfallod y TywodWelsh
- MarkfirbenDanish
- ZauneidechseGerman
- Grusinische Zauneidechse [grusinica]German
- ΑμμόσαυραGreek
- ΒουνόσαυραGreek
- Lagarto ÁgilSpanish
- kivisisalikEstonian
- hietasisiliskoFinnish
- SandferføtlaFaroese
- Lezard des SouchesFrench
- Lézard des souchesFrench
- Lézard des souches (Le)French
- dearc-luachrach ghainmhichScottish Gaelic
- dearcan-luachrach gainmhichScottish Gaelic
- לטאת החולותHebrew
- livadna guštericaCroatian
- Fürge gyíkHungarian
- Ճարպիկ մողեսArmenian
- lucertola agileItalian
- Lucertola degli arbustiItalian
- Lucertole AgileItalian
- ニワカナヘビJapanese
- Mardi KhvlikiGeorgian
- Сұр кесірткеKazakh
- 모래장지뱀Korean
- BëschfeieromesLuxembourgish
- Vikrusis driežasLithuanian
- Sila ķirzakaLatvian
- Планинска гуштерицаMacedonian
- Gavshgay GurvelMongolian
- markfirfisleNorwegian Bokmål
- sandfirfisleNorwegian Bokmål
- DuinhagedisDutch
- ZandhagedisDutch
- jaszczurka zwinkaPolish
- Lagarto-ágilPortuguese
- Șopârlă de câmpRomanian
- Прыткая ящерицаRussian
- jašterica krátkohlaváSlovak
- martinčekSlovenian
- Zhapiu i ngathetAlbanian
- Ливадски гуштерSerbian
- Livadski gušterSerbian
- sandödlaSwedish
- BubuliFilipino
- Kars KertenkelesiTurkish
- Ящірка прудкаUkrainian
- Thằn lằn sa mạcVietnamese
- 捷蜥蜴Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the sand lizard
Other species in the same genus Lacerta.
European green lizard
Lacerta viridis
Western green lizard
Lacerta bilineata
Iberian green lizard
Lacerta schreiberi
Balkan green lizard
Lacerta trilineata
Medium lizard
Lacerta media
Striated lizard
Lacerta strigata
CompareSand lizard vs European green lizardSand lizard vs Western green lizardSand lizard vs Iberian green lizardSand lizard vs Balkan green lizard
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the sand lizard?
The sand lizard is a lizard, a reptile in the family Lacertidae and order Squamata.
How big is the sand lizard?
The sand lizard has an adult body mass of 9.87 g and a body length of 7.91 cm, placing it in the tiny size class.
How long does the sand lizard live?
The sand lizard has a lifespan of 8.5 years, and our sources report up to 12 years.
Is the sand lizard endangered?
No. The sand lizard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many young does the sand lizard have?
The sand lizard has 5.8 young per litter or eggs per clutch, with 1 litter or clutch per year.
How long is the sand lizard's egg incubation period?
The egg incubation period of the sand lizard is 48 days.
When does the sand lizard reach sexual maturity?
The sand lizard reaches sexual maturity at 2 years of age.
Who named the sand lizard?
The sand lizard, Lacerta agilis, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-lizard
“Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-lizard.
@misc{sand_lizard_2026,
title = {Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sand-lizard},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}