Cordylidae

Giant Girdled Lizard ( Smaug giganteus)

The Girdle ( Cordylidae ), also Wirtelschweife belt or lizards, are a family of lizards, which occurs with about 60 species in southern Africa.

Features

Girdle are strongly built, often small lizards with a snout-vent length of usually 5 to 7 cm. As the largest type of Giant Girdled Lizard ( Smaug giganteus ) reaches up to 30 cm in length. The scales run in circles around the body and are most conspicuous tail keeled or thorn -like. The animals have a bone armor which is on the back side from head to tail of well-developed osteoderms and adapted more easily to the chest and abdomen. The scales on the belly are often non-overlapping and smooth. The species of the genus Chamaesaura have very much reduced limbs and a snake-like physique.

Way of life

Girdle are mostly ground-dwelling lizards that inhabit predominantly drylands. They often live in or on rock and rock groups, where they hide in case of danger in columns and can become wedged firmly by entgenpressen the scales on the rock walls. Some species dig buildings, others live at or on dead wood and are excellent climbers.

As a dietary used mainly insects, some species are occasionally blossom or plant parts.

With the exception of species of the genus Platysaurus Girdle are viviparous.

System

Within the family, two subfamilies are distinguished which Cordylinae with nine genera and monotypic Platysaurinae.

  • Subfamily Cordylinae Snake Belt lizards ( Chamaesaura ) Schneider 1801 Chamaesaura Aenea ( Fitzinger, 1843)
  • Chamaesaura anguina (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Chamaesaura macrolepis ( Cope, 1862)
  • Chamaesaura miopropus Boulenger, 1894
  • Chamaesaura tenuior Günther, 1895
  • Cordylus angolensis ( Bocage, 1895)
  • Cordylus aridus Mouton & Van Wyk, 1994
  • Cordylus beraduccii Broadley & Branch, 2002
  • Cordylus cloetei Mouton & Van Wyk, 1994
  • Cordylus cordylus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Cordylus imkeae Mouton & Van Wyk, 1994
  • Limpopo Girdled Lizard ( Cordylus jonesii ) ( Boulenger, 1891)
  • Cordylus machadoi Laurent, 1964
  • Cordylus macropholis ( Boulenger, 1910)
  • Cordylus marunguensis Greenbaum, Stanley, Kusamba, Moninga, Goldberg & Bursey, 2012
  • Cordylus mclachlani Mouton, 1986
  • Cordylus meculae Branch, Rödel & Marais, 2005
  • Cordylus minor Fitzsimons, 1943
  • Cordylus niger Cuvier, 1829
  • Cordylus nyikae Broadley & Mouton, 2000
  • Cordylus oelofseni Mouton & Van Wyk, 1990
  • Zimbabwe Girdled Lizard ( Cordylus rhodesianus ) ( Hewitt, 1933)
  • Cordylus rivae ( Boulenger, 1896)
  • Tropical Girdled Lizard ( Cordylus tropidosternum ) ( Cope, 1869)
  • Cordylus ukingensis ( Loveridge, 1932)
  • Cordylus vittifer ( Reichenow, 1887)
  • Cape Girdled Lizard ( Hemicordylus capensis ) (Smith, 1838)
  • Hemicordylus nebulosus ( Mouton & Van Wyk, 1995)
  • Karusasaurus Jordanian (Parker, 1936)
  • Karusasaurus polyzonus (Smith, 1838)
  • Namazonurus campbelli ( Fitzsimons, 1938)
  • Namazonurus lawrenci ( Fitzsimons, 1939)
  • Namazonurus namaquensis ( Methuen & Hewitt, 1914)
  • Namazonurus peersi ( Hewitt, 1932)
  • Namazonurus pustulatus (Peters, 1862)
  • Ninurta coeruleopunctatus ( Methuen & Hewitt, 1913)
  • Mail Belt tail ( Uroboros cataphractus ) ( Boie, 1828)
  • Pseudocordylus langi Loveridge, 1944
  • Pseudocordylus melanotus (Smith, 1838)
  • Pseudocordylus microlepidotus ( Cuvier, 1829)
  • Pseudocordylus spinosus Fitzsimons, 1947
  • Pseudocordylus subviridis (Smith, 1838)
  • Pseudocordylus transvaalensis Fitzsimons, 1943
  • Smaug breyeri ( Van Dam, 1921)
  • Giant Girdled Lizard ( Smaug giganteus) (Smith, 1844)
  • Smaug mossambicus ( Fitzsimons, 1958)
  • Smaug regius ( Broadley, 1962)
  • Smaug vandami ( Fitzsimons, 1930)
  • Warren's Girdled Lizard ( Smaug warreni ) ( Boulenger, 1908)
  • Platt belt lizards ( Platysaurus ) Smith, 1844 Platysaurus broadleyi Branch & Whiting, 1997
  • Platysaurus capensis Smith, 1844
  • Platysaurus guttatus Smith, 1849
  • Platysaurus imperator Broadley, 1962
  • Platysaurus intermedius Matschie, 1891
  • Platysaurus lebomboensis Jacobsen, 1994
  • Platysaurus maculatus Broadley, 1965
  • Platysaurus minor Fitzsimons, 1930
  • Platysaurus mitchelli Loveridge, 1953
  • Platysaurus monotropis Jacobsen, 1994
  • Platysaurus ocellatus Broadley, 1962
  • Platysaurus orientalis Fitzsimons, 1941
  • Platysaurus pungweensis Broadley, 1959
  • Platysaurus relictus Broadley, 1976
  • Platysaurus torquatus Peters, 1879

Swell

  • Description of the family in " The Reptile Database
Squamata Leopold Fitzinger Armour (anatomy)
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