''Nucras tessellata'', also known as the western sandveld lizard, striped sandveld lizard, tiger lizard, striped sand lizard or banded sand lizard, is a species of lizard in the family
Lacertidae
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found ...
.
[ It is native to western ]Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
and is found in western 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 ...
(Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...
and 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 ...
provinces), southwestern Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, and southern and central Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
north to Khomas Highland
Khomas is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its name refers to the Khomas Highland, a high plateau landscape that dominates this administrative subdivision. Khomas is centered on the capital city Windhoek and provides for this reason superio ...
. Its range includes several protected areas, including Tankwa Karoo National Park
Tankwa Karoo National Park is a national park in South Africa. The park lies about 70 km west of Sutherland and along the border of the Northern Cape and Western Cape in Succulent Karoo habitat; a biodiversity hotspot and one of the most ...
and ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.[
]
Habitat
''Nucras tessellata'' is associated with several habitat types such as savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
, karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is ...
, and fynbos
Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...
at elevations of above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. Although secretive, it can often be found in dry river beds or sandy areas with scattered rocks.[
]
Description
''Nucras tessellata'' is a slender, whip-tailed lizard about 25 cm long. The tail accounts for about two-thirds of its length and is used as a rudder during its lightning-fast dashes. In breeding colours, it is strongly striped in black and white over its forequarters, becoming bright orange-brown over its hindquarters and tail. Its non-breeding colours display striping down the entire length of the body. The lizard is most active during morning and evening, when it hunts for its preferred prey, scorpions. Its diet is supplemented by spiders, grasshoppers, termites and beetles, often excavated from their daytime retreats.[''The Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern Africa'' by Walter Rose (Maskew Miller 1962)]
Further reading
*
Bibliography
*''A review of the ''Nucras tessellata'' group (Sauria: Lacertidae) (Arnoldia)'' by Donald G Broadley (1972)
*''Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa'' by Bill Branch (1998)
References
Nucras
Lacertid lizards of Africa
Reptiles of Botswana
Reptiles of Namibia
Reptiles of South Africa
Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)
Reptiles described in 1838
{{Lacertidae-stub