''Smaug'' is a

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 ...

of lizards 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 genus ''Smaug'' is a group of

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 spiny southern African lizards, separated from the genus ''

Cordylus The genus ''Cordylus'' (Sauria: Cordylidae) includes a wide variety of species of small to medium spiny lizards from Africa, collectively called girdle-tailed lizards or girdled lizards. All are diurnal and ovoviviparous (live-bearing, without she ...

'' in 2011 on the basis of a comprehensive molecular

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

of the

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is the giant girdled lizard, ''S. giganteus'' (formerly ''Cordylus giganteus'').

Etymology

The genus ''Smaug'' was named for the character

Smaug Smaug () is a dragon and the main antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', his treasure and the mountain he lives in being the goal of the quest. Powerful and fearsome, he invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 171 years prio ...

, in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'':

Smaug is the name of the dragon encountered by Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's book ''The Hobbit''. According to Tolkien the name is derived from the Old German verb ''smeugen'' – to squeeze through a hole. Like the type species, Smaug lived underground and was heavily armored. Appropriately Tolkien was born in the
Free State province The Free State ( ; ; ; ; ), formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orang ...
, South Africa, the core area of distribution of the type species. The name is masculine.

''Zonurus'', the former genus name, is from Greek ''zōnē'' 'girdle' + ''oura'' 'tail'.

Description

''Smaug'' are large lizards (extremely large among the

), measuring up to in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

(SVL). The body is sub-cylindrical in cross-section and robust. Limbs are moderate in length and digits are unreduced.

Dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and caudal scales are enlarged and spinose.

Occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone lies over the occipital lobes of the cere ...

spines are greatly enlarged.

Nasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Somet ...

s are not in contact with one another. The frontonasal scale is in broad contact with the rostral scale. The tongue is partly or fully pigmented.

Osteoderm Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amph ...

s are distributed across the entire body.

Reproduction

''Smaug'' are

viviparous In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...

and give birth to 1–6 young.

Species

There are 9 species: *'' Smaug barbertonensis'' – Barberton girdled lizard *'' Smaug breyeri'' – Waterberg girdled lizard *'' Smaug depressus'' – Zoutpansberg girdled lizard *''

Smaug giganteus The sungazer (''Smaug giganteus'', syn. ''Cordylus giganteus''), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa.Bi ...

'' – giant girdled lizard (type species) *'' Smaug mossambicus'' – Mozambique girdled lizard *'' Smaug regius'' – regal girdled lizard *'' Smaug swazicus'' – Swazi dragon lizard *''

Smaug vandami Van Dam's girdled lizard (''Smaug vandami'') is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. Geographic range The type locality of ''S. vandami'' is Gravelotte, Limpopo, South Africa. Habitat The prefe ...

'' – Van Dam's girdled lizard *'' Smaug warreni'' – Warren's girdled lizard ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Smaug''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3486900 Lizards of Africa Lizard genera Taxa named by Edward L. Stanley Taxa named by Aaron M. Bauer Taxa named by Todd R. Jackman Taxa named by William Roy Branch Taxa named by Pieter Le Fras Nortier Mouton