There are two main colour forms; in lowland regions the body is greyish-buff with a brown reticulated pattern and the tail is boldly striped transversely in black and turquoise-green; in upland areas and on some offshore islands the colour is much darker and may be completely black.

It is found in rocky places, on cliffs, boulders, rock pavements, walls, piles of stones, buildings and sometimes the trunks of trees, at altitudes of up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft).

It feeds on small invertebrates including flying insects which are caught when they land on the surface of the rock.

Females lay clutches of two to four sausage-shaped, white eggs which hatch in six to seven weeks, the juveniles having a snout-to-vent length of about 2 cm (0.8 in).

[2] The sharp-snouted rock lizard has a wide range, is common in suitable habitat and is assumed to have a large total population.