Zootoca vivipara
(Lichtenstein, 1823) · speciesAt a glance
Sources11 archives
Databases and archives Zootoca vivipara's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation13 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility175 227 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI27 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics37 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
Tree of SexTree of Sex Consortiumgenome & karyotype↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (Zootoca vivipara, formerly Lacerta vivipara), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it not only lays eggs, but also gives birth to live young. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Zootoca.Harris, D. J. and M. A. Carretero. (2003). Comments on the taxonomic value of (sub)genera within the family Lacertidae (Reptilia). Amphibia-Reptilia 24 119-22. Both "Zootoca" and "vivipara" mean "live birth," in Greek and Latin respectively. It was called Lacerta vivipara until the genus Lacerta was split into nine genera in 2007 by Arnold, Arribas & Carranza. Male and female Zootoca vivipara are equally likely to contract blood parasites. Additionally, larger males have been shown to reproduce more times in a given reproductive season than smaller ones. The lizard is also unique as it is exclusively carnivorous, eating only flies, spiders, and insects. Studies show that the more carnivorous an individual is (the more insects they eat), the less diverse the population of parasitic helminths that infest the lizards. Zootoca vivipara lives in very cold climates, yet participates in normal thermoregulation instead of thermoconformity. They have the largest range of all terrestrial lizards which even include subarctic regions. It is able to survive these harsh climates as individuals will freeze in especially cold seasons and thaw two months later. They also live closer to geological phenomena that provide a warmer environment for them.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
No structured trait data for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Zootoca vivipara has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Zootoca vivipara carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 366×GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database · GoaT · Tree of Sex Database · GoaT · Animal Genome Size Database +1
2n 381×GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type175 227 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions15 of 24 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Instytut Ochrony Przyrody Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 675 |
| Cambridge, US | 152 |
| Salzburg, AT | 68 |
| South Kensington, GB | 49 |
| CASlocation not on record | 33 |
| Stockholm, SE | 13 |
| Bergen, NO | 11 |
| 8 | |
| Brussels, BE | 7 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 5 |
| Kuopio, FI | 4 |
| Barcelona, ES | 3 |
| Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record | 3 |
| Bonn, DE | 3 |
| Paro, BT | 2 |
| MUZOO - Musée d'histoire naturelle de La Chaux-de-Fondslocation not on record | 2 |
| Gothenburg, SE | 1 |
| Società romana di Scienze naturalilocation not on record | 1 |
| Museum Zofingenlocation not on record | 1 |
| Forssa, FI | 1 |
| University of Minnesota, James Ford Bell Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Copenhagen, DK | 1 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 1 |
| Oulu, FI | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Zootoca vivipara was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.