Peloponnese slow worm

Peloponnese slow worm
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Anguidae
Genus: Anguis
Species:
A. cephallonica
Binomial name
Anguis cephallonica
Werner, 1894

Anguis cephallonica, the Peloponnese slow worm, is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae endemic to Greece. It is found in the Peloponnese and islands of Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea, at elevations of up to 1,340 m. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, arable land, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens. The species can be distinguished from all other slow worms by the greater number of scale rows around the body and the distinctive color pattern on its side. Peloponnese slow worms give birth to live litters of 3–26 young. They are listed as being a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List.