Van Dam's girdled lizard (Smaug vandami) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.
| Van Dam's girdled lizard | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Cordylidae |
| Genus: | Smaug |
| Species: | S. vandami
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| Binomial name | |
| Smaug vandami (FitzSimons, 1930)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
Geographic range
editThe type locality of S. vandami is Gravelotte, Limpopo, South Africa.[3]
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitats of S. vandami are grassland and savanna.[1]
Description
editA large lizard, S. vandami may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 14.5 cm (5.7 in).[4] It has a triangular shaped head, and spiny dorsal scales. The predominant colour is dark brown with fragmented yellow rings.[5]
Behaviour
editS. vandami is largely solitary and hides in cracks in rocks.[6]
Reproduction
editS. vandami is ovoviviparous.[2] From two to six young are born alive in summer.[6]
Etymology
editThe species is named for the collector of the type specimens, Gerhardus Petrus Frederick van Dam (died 1927), who was a South African herpetologist.[2][7][8]
Common names
editOther common names for S. vandami include the Afrikaans name ouvolk, meaning "old folk".[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Bates, M.F.; Mouton, P.L.F.N. (2018). "Smaug vandami". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T110167848A115680080. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T110167848A115680080.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Species Smaug vandami at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Living National Treasures". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Branch, William R. (1996). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 9781868720408. Plate 70.
- ^ Bader, Kenneth. "Van Dam's Girdled Lizard". Website on girdled lizards kept in captivity.
- ^ a b 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. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Cordylus vandami, p. 197 + Plate 70).
- ^ "Van Dam, Mr Gerhardus Petrus Frederik (zoology, plant collection)". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cordylus vandami, p. 271).
- ^ Ed Stanley. "Smaug Stanley et al. 2011". Retrieved 23 July 2015.
Further reading
edit- 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. ISBN 3899734378.
- 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
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