Acanthodactylus erythrurus
Silhouette: Gustav Mützel · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Acanthodactylus erythrurus, commonly known as the spiny-footed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to northwestern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. It is considered to be the fastest member of the family Lacertidae. Its common name refers to the spines that are arranged like a comb on the toes of its hind legs.
The spiny-footed lizard is 20 cm long, so it can be categorized as a medium sized animal. It has a tail that is two thirds of the lizard's total size, and it has a very strong body. The snout is quite short and the supra occipital plates are defined enough to portray the illusion of the eyebrows being located on the lizard's head. The entire body is covered with thin, seed-like scales. The scales have a keeled structure and the midline protrudes outwards. The lizard has long nails on its strong hind legs and long white lines on a greyish-yellow skin tone. There are also irregular dark and yellow spots all over the legs. The anterior belly is a shade of white and the long tail is a brilliant red on the lateral portions. During the mating period, the males' yellow ocelli and the females' red tails become more intensely... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spiny-footed Lizard sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 18 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spiny-footed Lizard in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and September–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spiny-footed Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Spiny-footed Lizard sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 30%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same family: Lacertidae
The closest relatives of the Spiny-footed Lizard that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Lacertidae, Wall Lizards) are Guadarrama Wall Lizard (about 40%), Large Psammodromus (about 30%) and Common Wall Lizard (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spiny-footed Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
