The Soutpansberg rock lizard (''Vhembelacerta rupicola'') is a small (40–50 mm) flattened species 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

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 has been described as a diurnal, rock-dwelling species inhabiting scree and rocky outcrops at altitudes from 900 to 1600 m. It 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 the

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

in the north of

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 ...

. It is an active forager on the southern slopes of the

Soutpansberg The Soutpansberg (formerly Zoutpansberg), meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a Mountain range, range of mountains in far northern South Africa. It is located in Vhembe District Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo. It is named for t ...

hills.

Etymology

The species name “rupicola” means rock-inhabiting as this lizard is quite strictly saxicolous when compared to other species in the area like ''

Trachylepis varia The eastern variable skink (''Trachylepis varia'') is a species of skink found in East Africa. References

Trachylepis Reptiles described in 1867 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters {{Skink-stub ...

''. The first part of the genus name "Vhembe-" refers to the

Vhembe The Vhembe District Municipality (; ) is one of the 5 districts of the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with the Beitbridge District in Zimbabwe and on the east with t ...

region of

where the species is endemic. The second part of the name, "lacerta", refers to the Latin name for lizard, it also retains the historical link to the genus

Lacerta Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a "W" ...

to which the species was originally described.

References

Lacertidae Endemic reptiles of South Africa Taxa named by Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons Reptiles described in 1933 Lacertid lizards of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{lacertidae-stub