List of reptiles of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France refers to the area of France located on the European continent, including mainland France and Corsica. It is home to 20 native species of lizards, 13 species of snakes and 3 species of terrestrial and freshwater turtles. 3 species of marine turtles are regularly present in the region, while 3 other have a transient presence. Introduced species include the Italian wall lizard, the pond slider and the common snapping turtle.
Lizards
Introduced species
The Italian wall lizard is believed to have been introduced in Corsica in antiquity. It is a more recent introduction in other parts of Southern France.
Turtles
The green sea turtle has been sporadically reported in the French Mediterranean Sea. The olive ridley sea turtle was observed for the first time in Metropolitan France in 2017, on the Atlantic coast near the Isle of Oléron.
Introduced species
The pond slider was introduced in France through the pet trade, having been imported in large numbers starting in the 1980s. It has since been reported in nearly all French departments, and acts as a competitor to the native European pond turtle, with which it shares an ecological niche. After import of pond sliders was banned in 1997, the common snapping turtle was commercialized in France, with former pets being released in the wild. Nests and juveniles have been reported in the departments of Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gironde and Loire-Atlantique.
Works cited
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