Limpopo girdled lizard
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox The Limpopo girdled lizard (Cordylus jonesii), also known commonly as Jones's armadillo lizard and Jones's girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is indigenous to Southern Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, jonesii, is in honor of a "Mr. C. R. Jones" who collected the holotype.[1] The common name, Limpopo girdled lizard, refers to the type locality, which is the Murchison Range in Limpopo.[2]
Geographic range
C. jonesii is found on both sides of South Africa's border with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.[3]
Habitat and behavior
The Limpopo girdled lizard is arboreal and inhabits dry forests, especially mopane woodland, where it hides under loose bark and in hollow tree limbs.[3]
Diet
C. jonesii preys upon winged termites, ants, and moths.[4]
Reproduction
C. jonesii is ovoviviparous.[2] Litter size is usually two young, but may be as many as four.[4]
Description
The dorsal pattern of C. jonesii varies from red to brown to gray, with dark spots or lines. On some individuals, the lines fuse into a black-bordered white stripe along the midline of the back. The Limpopo girdled lizard has a distinct dark dorsolateral stripe running from the head to the hips. The belly, throat, and lips are cream to yellow. The tail is very spiny and about 45% the total length of the animal. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of Template:Cvt.[4]
Taxonomy
The Limpopo girdled lizard is sometimes classified as a subspecies of the tropical girdled lizard (Cordylus tropidosternum).[4] When both species are held together, the Limpopo girdled lizard has a noticeably shorter snout.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In C. jonesii the nostril pierces the center of the nasal scale (the lower posterior corner of the nasal in C. tropidosternum).Script error: No such module "Unsubst". All of the ventral scales on the throat and belly of C. jonesii are smooth instead of keeled.[4] C. jonesii is exported from Mozambique for the pet trade, where it is often mislabeled as Cordylus vittifer.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
References
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- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Cordylus jonesii, p. 136).
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b c d e Branch (2004).
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Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1891). "Description of a new Lizard of the Genus Zonurus from the Transvaal". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 7: 417. (Zonurus jonesii, new species).
- Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing. 399 pp. Template:ISBN. (Cordylus tropidosternum jonesi, p. 195 + Plate 66).
- Broadley DG, Branch WR (2002). "A review of the small east African Cordylus (Sauria: Cordylidae), with the description of a new species". African Journal of Herpetology 51 (1): 9–34.
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