The unexpected “persistence” of the endemic Archaeolacerta bedriagae on three Corsican islets

Archaeolacerta bedriagae is a Corso-Sardinian endemism, known only from the Corsican Islet La Folaca, but recently discovered on two other islets (Lavezzi satellite islands). All three populations genetically belong to the sub-Corsican clade. The micro-insular distribution of this lizard is limited to the islands and islets of the Strait of Bonifacio. The absence of the Bedriaga’s rock lizard in the Corsican main islands of Lavezzi and Cavallo still remains unexplained; however, for the latter, habitat alterations and the introduction of alien species could be the cause. The absence of the Bedriaga’s rock lizard from the other Lavezzi islets may have been influenced by the morphology and vegetation cover of these islets.