Van Dam's girdled lizard (''Smaug vandami'') 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), ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geographic range

The type locality of ''S. vandami'' is

Gravelotte, Limpopo Gravelotte is a small town situated in the east of the Limpopo province of South Africa. Mining centre 10 km north-east of Leydsdorp and 52 km north-west of Hoedspruit. It was established in 1916 and named after the farm owned by a Pr ...

, 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 ''S. vandami'' are

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and

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 ...

Description

A large lizard, ''S. vandami'' may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of . It has a triangular shaped head, and spiny

dorsal scale In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

s. The predominant colour is dark brown with fragmented yellow rings.

Behaviour

''S. vandami'' is largely solitary and hides in cracks in rocks.

Reproduction

''S. vandami'' 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 ...

. From two to six young are born alive in summer. 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 vandami'', p. 197 + Plate 70).

Etymology

The species is named for the collector of the type specimens, Gerhardus Petrus Frederick van Dam (died 1927), who was a South African herpetologist. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

Common names

Other common names for ''S. vandami'' include the

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

name ''ouvolk'', meaning "old folk".

References

* FitzSimons V (1930). "Descriptions of New South African Reptilia and Batrachia, with Distribution Records of Allied Species in the Transvaal Museum Collection". ''Annals of the Transvaal Museum'' 14 (1): 20–48. (''Zonurus vandami'', new species, pp. 25–27, Figures 6–7). * Loveridge A (1944). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Cordylidae". ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College'' 95 (1): 1–118. (''Cordylus warreni vandami'', new combination, pp. 23–24). * Reissig J (2014). ''Girdled Lizards and their relatives: Natural History, Captive Care and Breeding''. Frankfurt am Main: Edition Chimaira. 249 pp. . * Stanley EL, Bates MF (2014). "Here be dragons: a phylogenetic and biogeographical study of the ''Smaug warreni'' species complex (Squamata: Cordylidae) in southern Africa". ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 172 (4): 892–909. *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 (1): 53–70. (''Smaug vandami'', new combination).

External links

Photographs
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3486906 Smaug (genus) Endemic reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1930 Taxa named by Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons