Lawrence's girdled lizard (''Namazonurus lawrenci)'' is a
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), ...
of
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 ...
in the
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 ...
Cordylidae
Cordylidae is a family of small- to medium-sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as girdled lizards, spinytail lizards, or girdle-tail lizards.
Cordylidae is closely related to the family Gerrhosaurida ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
[World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996).]
''Cordylus lawrenci ''
2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 28 July 2007.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''lawrenci'', is in honor of South African
entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
Reginald Frederick Lawrence
Reginald Frederick Lawrence Royal Society of South Africa, FRSSAf (6 March 1897 in George, Western Cape – 9 October 1987 in Pietermaritzburg) was a South African arachnologist and myriapodologist at the South African Museum in Cape Town fro ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Cordylus lawrenci'', pp. 152).]
Description
''N. lawrencei'' is small, thin, and flat for its
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
.
Dorsally
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...
, it is dark brown. Ventrally, it is brownish gray to whitish. Adults usually have a
snout-to-vent length (SVL) of .
[ Branch, Bill (2004).]
Geographic range
''N. lawrenci'' is found in the
Richtersveld
The Richtersveld is a desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in the north-western corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat, sandy, coastal plains, to cragg ...
in the province of
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...
, South Africa.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural 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 of ''N. lawrenci'' are rocky areas and shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
, at altitudes of .
Reproduction
''N. lawrenci'' is ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Bauer AM, Branch WR (2003). "The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa". ''Herpetological Natural History'' 8: 11–160.
* Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Cordylus lawrenci'', pp. 189–190 + Plate 68).
* FitzSimons VFM (1939). "Descriptions of some new species and subspecies of lizards from South Africa". ''Annals of the Transvaal Museum'' 20 (1): 5–16. (''Zonurus lawrenci'', new species).
* Stanley EL, Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Branch WR, Mouton PLFN (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 58: 53–70. (''Namazonurus lawrenci'', new combination).
Namazonurus
Reptiles of South Africa
Reptiles described in 1939
Taxa named by Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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