Sun in sight, shelter nearby
Vive Cabeceiras · Sardão · ecologia geral, com referência histórica a Gondiães

For a freckle, an open space is not enough.

The form of the University of Évora associates sardão to areas with good sun exposure and refuges: shrubs, stone walls, burrows and other cavities. It also describes the use of agricultural fields and pine clearings. It is the general ecology of the species with a historical record in Gondiães, not an inventory of the animals or shelters that today exist in this parish. The sardon, Timon lepidus, is also known as the occelated lizard. The description of the University of Évora highlights the black-lined blue spots on the flanks and the robust head. The total length can reach 80 centimeters, including the tail: it is not 80 centimeters of body only. The tail may exceed twice the body length. Sun and shelter are two parts of the same habitat. A clearing offers exhibition, but the bushes, cavities and walls introduce refuges into the landscape. This is the combination that the chart describes, not a preference for any ground simply open. The Gondiães register helps connect the species to local natural history; the explanation of the habitat does not transform all the walls of the parish into confirmed presence sites.

Sources and context
University of Évora — Virtual Museum of Biodiversity, Timon lepidus; MVBIO / Darío Estradiz López
https://museubiodiversidade.uevora.pt/elenco-de-especies/biodiversidade-actual/animais/cordados/repteis/timon-lepidus/
Accessed: 2026-11-07
J. Teixeira et al. — Nuevos datos sobre la distribución de la herpetofauna en Portugal, Boletín AHE 7 (1996), p. 11; PDF sheet 13
https://herpetologica.org/BAHE/old_vol/BAHE007.pdf#page=13
Accessed: 2026-11-06

Editorial summary. The date of consultation is not the date of the facts.
Text and recipe, when available. Photos, activities and updates on the page:
https://vivecabeceiras.pt/en/descobrir/terra-viva/?leitura=sardao-sol-refugios#sardao-sol-refugios