''Cordylus cordylus'', the Cape girdled lizard, is a medium-sized lizard indigenous to the
southern Cape region of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
, where it inhabits crags, rocky outcrops and mountain summits. They evade predators by wedging themselves firmly in rock cracks.
Description
left, Specimen from the Western Cape
The Cape girdled lizard has a golden-brown body with spiny, keeled body scales, especially on its tail.
Range
It is indigenous to the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
and
Eastern Cape provinces of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
, from
Saldanha and
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
eastwards as far as
Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...
.
Food
They feed on insects, which are caught by rushing and pouncing.
Habits
They live in large colonies (with social hierarchies) on crags, rocky outcrops and mountain summits. They can often be seen sunbathing on top of prominent rocks. The lizards hide in rocky cracks, but come out in the morning and evening to forage. If threatened, they retreat to their holes and cracks in the rocks, wedge themselves in and lock their bodies there by inflating their lungs. Jammed into the cracks like this, with their thorny tail wrapped protectively over their faces, they are incredibly difficult to prise out.
Reproduction
In the autumn, the females give birth to one or two young, which stay very near the mother for the first year.
References
Further reading
* Branch, B., 1998. ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa'': Ralph Curtis Books Publishing, Sanibel Island, Florida, 399 pp.
* Fitzsimons, V. F., 1943. ''The Lizards of South Africa'': Transvaal Museum Memoir, Pretoria.
C
Lizards of Africa
Endemic reptiles of South Africa
Natural history of Cape Town
Reptiles described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
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