Biology:Gerrhosauridae

Short description: Family of lizards

Gerrhosauridae
Broadleysaurus major
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Clade:	Cordyliformes
Family:	Gerrhosauridae Fitzinger, 1843

The Gerrhosauridae are a family of lizards native to Africa and Madagascar and are members of the Skink family.

Habitat

Also known as plated lizards, species in the family Gerrhosauridae live in a range of habitats, from rocky crevices to sand dunes.

Description

Their form is variable, some species having four fully developed limbs, and others having vestigial hind limbs only.

Reproduction

Most species are believed to be oviparous.

Classification

Family Gerrhosauridae

• Subfamily Gerrhosaurinae
  • Genus Broadleysaurus - rough-scaled plated lizard (1 species)
  • Genus Cordylosaurus - blue-black plated lizard (1 species)
  • Genus Gerrhosaurus - (7 species)
  • Genus Matobosaurus - (2 species)
  • Genus Tetradactylus - (8 species)
• Subfamily Zonosaurinae
  • Genus Tracheloptychus - keeled plated lizards (2 species)
  • Genus Zonosaurus - zonosaurs (17 species)

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Family "Gerrhosauridæ", pp. 119–120).
• Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN:0-88359-042-5. (Family Gerrhosauridae, pp. 176–177).
• Fitzinger L (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. ("Gerrhosauri", new family, p. 21). (in Latin).

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20100616084347/http://www.jcvi.org/reptiles/families/gerrhosauridae.php

Wikidata ☰ Q579535 entry