''Pseudocordylus melanotus'', also known as the common crag lizard or Highveld crag lizard, is a species of lizard found in Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa. ''

Pseudocordylus subviridis ''Pseudocordylus subviridis'', also known as the Drakensberg crag lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is a small lizard found in South Africa and Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as ...

'' is considered a distinct species by the Reptile Database, but a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''Pseudocordylus melanotus'' by IUCN. ''Pseudocordylus melanotus'' an

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 ...

lizard, tolerant of temperatures no lower than –5 °C, and consequently occurring on rocky outcrops, hills and mountains throughout

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 ...

. Various subspecies are found in the inland mountains of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

( Amatole– Great Winterberg) and

Cape Fold Mountains The Cape Fold Belt (CFB) is a long fold-and-thrust mountain belt along the western and southern coastlines of Western Cape, South Africa. The Cape Fold Belt formed during the Permian period (300 to 250million years ago) in the late Paleozoic ...

, the Natal and Transvaal Drakensberg and foothills,

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

and

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

with an isolated population at Suikerbosrand, and also at the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the ...

which geologically is part of the Transvaal Drakensberg. The type specimen was collected by the Scots zoologist Andrew Smith in 1838 in the hills between the main branches of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

east of

Philippolis Philippolis is a town in the Free State province of South Africa. The town is the birthplace of writer and intellectual Sir Laurens van der Post, actress Brümilda van Rensburg and Springboks rugby player Adriaan Strauss. It is regarded as o ...

, Orange Free State.

References

External links

iSpot recordsList of South African reptiles - Johan Marais
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3409712 Pseudocordylus Lizards of Africa Reptiles of Eswatini Reptiles of Lesotho Reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1838 Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)