''Chalarodon steinkampi'' is a species of Malagasy terrestrial

iguania Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s. It was recognised as a new species in 2015, which is probably microendemic to a small area in south eastern Madagascar.

Habitat

The species inhabits areas very similar to its sister species, '' Chalarodon madagascariensis'': semi-arid to arid regions with sandy soil that are mostly open.

Distribution

This species is currently only known from two locations: a locality 30 km north of

Amboasary Amboasary Sud (Amboasary Atsimo) is a town in Anosy, Madagascar. It is the main town of Amboasary Sud District. It has a population of 45,989 in 2018. Geography It is located at the Mandrare River which since 1957 is crossed by a steel bridge ...

, and Esomony.

Morphology

''Calarodon steinkampi'' is a

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. It is easiest distinguished from ''C. madagascariensis'' by its unkeeled gular and ventral scales, which are keeled in the latter species. Other subtle differences include the

mental scale The mental scale, or mental, in snakes and other scaled reptiles refers to the median plate on the tip of the lower jaw. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca & London: Comstock Publishing A ...

being in contact with four postmentals (rather than 5–8), slightly shorter limbs, and fewer spines in its dorsal crest.

Nutrition

The Madagascar sand lizards are

insectivores A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

. In addition to insects, sometimes plants are ingested, particularly in the form of leaves and roots.

References

Chalarodon Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles of Madagascar Lizards of Africa Reptiles described in 2015 {{lizard-stub