Van Dam's girdled lizard

Van Dam's girdled lizard (Smaug vandami) is a species of sungazers that are endemic[2] to Limpopo near Gravelotte, South Africa.

Van Dam's girdled lizard

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Smaug
Species:
S. vandami
Binomial name
Smaug vandami
(FitzSimons, 1930)
Synonyms
  • Zonurus vandami FitzSimons, 1930
  • Cordylus warreni vandami
  • Cordylus vandami

This large lizard (SVL 145 mm)[3] has a triangular shaped head with spiny dorsal scales. They are largely solitary and hide in cracks in the rocks.

Other names

The species is named for the collector of the type specimens, Gerhardus Petrus Frederick van Dam[4][5] (d. 1927), a South African herpetologist.

Other common names include the Afrikaans name "ouvolk"[6] - meaning "old folk".

Description

The predominant colour is dark brown with fragmented yellow rings.[7]

gollark: The COMPARTMENTAL SLATS project team, not just any gibson voter.
gollark: https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/
gollark: It should be one of the colors on the xkcd colors list.
gollark: Please move COMPARTMENTAL SLATS roles above Helper.
gollark: Oh, you're right, they are subtly diferent.

References
  1. Mouton, P.L.F.N. (2017). "Smaug vandami". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T110167848A110313918. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T110167848A110313918.en.
  2. "Living National Treasures". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. Branch, William R. (1996). Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik. pp. Plate 70. ISBN 9781868720408.
  4. "The Reptile Database". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. "Van Dam, Mr Gerhardus Petrus Frederik (zoology, plant collection)". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  6. Ed Stanley. "Smaug Stanley et al. 2011". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. Bader, Kenneth. "Van Dam's Girdled Lizard". Website on girdled lizards kept in captivity
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.