Hemicordylus capensis

False girdled lizard
In the Hottentots-Holland, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Hemicordylus
Species: H. capensis
Binomial name
Hemicordylus capensis
(Smith 1838) Stanley at al, 2011
Synonyms
  • Cordylus capensis
  • Pseudocordylus capensis
  • Hemicordylus robertsi

The False girdled lizard (Hemicordylus capensis), is a lizard species endemic to the Cape Fold Belt of southern South Africa.

Description

The maximum snout-to-vent length is about 76 mm. Like its sisterspecies Hemicordylus nebulosus, it has gracile features, with a phenotype that is described as intermediate between typical Cordylus and the larger, more robust Pseudocordylus. They have long limbs, and long slender digits. Some populations are melanistic and sexually dichromatic.

Habits

Their specialized adaptation to steep rock faces, is believed to have favoured their agility and lightly armored anatomy.[1] They give live birth to 1–3 young.

Reference

  1. ^ Eifler et al., 2007; Janse van Rensburg, 2009; Janse van Rensburg et al., 2009
Extant Cordylidae species
Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Reptilia · Order: Squamata
Chamaesaura
Cordylus
African Spiny-tailed Lizard (C. polyzonus) · Angolan Girdled Lizard (C. angolensis) · Armadillo Girdled Lizard (C. cataphractus) · Barberton Girdled Lizard (C. barbertonensis) · Black Girdled Lizard (C. niger) · Blue-spotted Girdled Lizard (C. coeruleopunctatus) · Campbell's Girdled Lizard (C. campbelli) · Cape Girdled Lizard (C. cordylus) · Cloete's Girdled Lizard (C. cloetei) · Coastal Spiny-tailed Lizard (C. macropholis) · C. meculae · C. nyikae · C. rivae · Drakensberg Crag Lizard (C. subviridis) · Dwarf Crag Lizard (C. nebulosus) · Dwarf Girdled Lizard (C. minor) · Dwarf Karoo Girdled Lizard (C. aridus) · East African Spiny-tailed Lizard (C. tropidosternum) · Eastern Cape Crag Lizard (C. fasciatus) · False Girdled Lizard (C. capensis) · Giant Girdled Lizard (C. giganteus) · Herero Girdled Lizard (C. pustulatus) · Hewitt's Spiny-tailed Lizard (C. peersi) · Highveld Crag Lizard (C. melanotus) · Jordan's Girdled Lizard (C. jordani) · Lang's Crag Lizard (C. langi) · Lawrence's Girdled Lizard (C. lawrenci) · Limpopo Girdled Lizard (C. jonesii) · Maasai Girdled Lizard (C. beraduccii) · Machado's Girdled Lizard (C. machadoi) · Mclachlan's Girdled Lizard (C. mclachlani) · Mozambique Girdled Lizard (C. mossambicus) · Namaqua Girdled Lizard (C. namaquensis) · Northern Crag Lizard (C. transvaalensis) · Oelofsen's Girdled Lizard (C. oelofseni) · Prickly Girdled Lizard (C. spinosus) · Rhodesian Girdled Lizard (C. rhodesianus) · Rooiberg Girdled Lizard (C. imkeae) · Tasman's Girdled Lizard (C. tasmani) · Transvaal Girdled Lizard (C. vittifer) · Ukinga Girdled Lizard (C. ukingensis) · Van Dam's Girdled Lizard (C. vandami) · Warren's Girdled Lizard (C. warreni) · Waterberg Girdled Lizard (C. breyeri) · Western Cape Crag Lizard (C. microlepidotus) · Zoutpansberg Girdled Lizard (C. depressus)
Platysaurus
Pseudocordylus