The Gerrhosauridae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. They are close relatives of

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

s and were once classified in the same family as them.

Habitat

Also known as plated lizards,

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the family Gerrhosauridae live in a range of

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, from rocky crevices to sand dunes.

Description

Their form is variable, some species having four fully developed limbs, and others having vestigial hind limbs only.

Reproduction

Most species are believed to be

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Classification

Family Gerrhosauridae *Subfamily Gerrhosaurinae **Genus '' Broadleysaurus'' - rough-scaled plated lizard (1 species) **Genus '' Cordylosaurus'' - blue-black plated lizard (1 species) **Genus '' Gerrhosaurus'' - (7 species) **Genus '' Matobosaurus'' - (2 species) **Genus '' Tetradactylus'' - (8 species) *Subfamily Zonosaurinae **Genus '' Tracheloptychus'' - keeled plated lizards (2 species) **Genus ''

Zonosaurus ''Zonosaurus'' is a genus of lizards in the Family (biology), family Gerrhosauridae. Geographic range Species in the genus ''Zonosaurus'' are found in Madagascar and Seychelles. www.reptile-database.org. Species The following 17 species are co ...

'' - zonosaurs (17 species)

References

* Boulenger GA (1887). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Family "Gerrhosauridæ", pp. 119–120). * Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Family Gerrhosauridae, pp. 176–177). * Fitzinger L (1843). ''Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae.'' Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. ("Gerrhosauri", new family, p. 21). (in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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