Biology:Pseudocordylus

Short description: Genus of lizards

Crag lizards
P. melanotus in western Eswatini
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Cordylidae
Genus:	Pseudocordylus A. Smith, 1838

Pseudocordylus is a genus of small to large girdled lizards from South Africa, commonly known as crag lizards. Six species of Pseudocordylus are known; they are distinguished from girdled lizards of the genus Cordylus by the presence of granular scales on the back instead of osteoderms.

Species

The following six species are recognized as being valid.

• Pseudocordylus langi Loveridge, 1944 – Lang's crag lizard
• Pseudocordylus melanotus (A. Smith, 1838) – Common crag lizard
• Pseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829) – Cape crag lizard
• Pseudocordylus spinosus V. FitzSimons, 1947 – Spiny crag lizard
• Pseudocordylus subviridis (A. Smith, 1838) – Drakensberg crag lizard
• Pseudocordylus transvaalensis V. FitzSimons, 1943 – Northern crag lizard

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Pseudocordylus.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA. 1885. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ... Zonuridæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus Pseudocordylus, p. 259).
• 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. SBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Psdeudocordylus, p. 205).

External links

• Broadley DG. 2006. [1]
• Frost DR et al. 2001. [2]

Wikidata ☰ Q2220649 entry