Mosor rock lizard range remapped: nine new sites reveal a shrinking refuge

A study in the journal Herpetozoa remapped the range of the Mosor rock lizard (Dinarolacerta mosorensis), a stenoendemic reptile found only in parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Using 211 records from 1886 to 2024—95 from literature and 116 from six years of targeted fieldwork—the team validated 33 distinct localities and identified nine sites for the first time. The new data extend the species’ known distribution about 65 km farther north and confirm it west of the Neretva River. Altitude is central: 91% of records are above 1,000 m, with the highest confirmed occurrence at 2,031 m on Mount Volujak. The authors say the shrinking cold habitat band makes the species sensitive to warming.