Tetradactylus Breyeri
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''Tetradactylus breyeri'', commonly known as Breyer's long-tailed seps or Breyer's whip lizard, 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), ...
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 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 ...
Gerrhosauridae The Gerrhosauridae are a family of lizards native to Africa and Madagascar. They are close relatives of skinks and were once classified in the same family as them. Habitat Also known as plated lizards, species in the family Gerrhosauridae live ...
. 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 ...
to
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 ...
.


Etymology

The
specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''breyeri'', is in honor of Dutch naturalist Hermann Gottfried Breyer.


Geographic range

''T. breyeri'' is found in the South African provinces of Free State,
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
, and
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...
.


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 ...
of ''T. breyeri'' is
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 ...
, at altitudes of .


Description

''T. breyeri'' is snake-like, with short vestigial legs. There are two toes on each front foot, and one toe on each back foot. Maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) is . The tail is very long, more than three times SVL. 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. . (''Tetradactylus breyeri'', p. 182 + Plate 51).


Reproduction

''T. breyeri'' is
oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
. www.reptile-database.org.
Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
size is small, only one or two eggs laid in early summer.


References


Further reading

* Bates MF (1996). "Taxonomic status and distribution of the South African lizard ''Tetradactylus breyeri'' Roux (Gerrhosauridae)". ''South African Journal of Zoology'' 31 (4): 214–218. * Berger-Dell'Mour HAE (1983). "''Der Übergang von Echse zu Schleiche in der Gattung ''Tetradactylus'',
Merrem Merrem may refer to: * Meropenem, an antibiotic initially marketed under the trade name Merrem * Blasius Merrem Blasius Merrem (4 February 1761 – 23 February 1824) was a German natural history, naturalist, zoologist, Ornithology, ornithologist ...
'' ". ''Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Anatomie und Ontogenie der Tiere''. 110: 1–152. (in German). * FitzSimons VF (1943). ''The Lizards of South Africa''. Transvaal Museum Memoirs No. 1. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xvi + 528 pp. (''Teteradactylus breyeri'', p. 294). * Roux J (1907). "''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Fauna von Süd-Afrika. Ergebnisse einer Reise von Prof. Max Weber im Jahre 1894. VII. Lacertilia (Eidechsen)'' ". ''Zoologische Jarhrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere''. 25: 403–444. (''Tetradactylus breyeri'', new species, pp. 430–431 + Plate 14, figure 6). (in German). Tetradactylus Endemic reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1907 Taxa named by Jean Roux Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of South Africa {{lizard-stub