The paper presents data on the ecology of two common species of reptiles in the Tambov Region: the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758, and the common grass snake, Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). The material was collected in the Michurinsky, Pervomaysky, Tambovsky and Inzhavinsky (on the territory of the Voroninsky State Nature Reserve) Districts of the Tambov Region during the 2019 field season. Field observations and accounting for the numbers of animals on the routes were carried out in the most typical biotopes for the study sites: in pine forest, deciduous forest, in steppe areas affected to varying degrees by anthropogenic transformation, in floodplains of rivers and along the shores of lakes and artificial reservoirs. Information on the following aspects of the ecology of these reptile species in the region is presented and discussed: habitat distribution and numbers, seasonal and diurnal activity, phenology of reproduction and development and the influence of anthropogenic factors. All materials obtained as a result of our own research are compared with the data of the literature sources cited in the paper. On the basis of wide distribution in the region, relatively high numbers and trends to synanthropy it is stated that the state of the populations of the sand lizard and common grass snake in the region in the present conditions is safe and special measures for their protection are not required.
Aggressive interactions between a sand lizard Lacerta agilis
and a common wall lizard Podarcis muralis in England