4- Pseudocordylus :
Pseudocordylus is a genus of small to large girdled lizards from South Africa, commonly known as crag lizards. Six species of Pseudocordylusare known;
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pseudocordylus is a genus of small to large girdled lizards from South Africa, commonly known as crag lizards. Six species of Pseudocordylusare known; they are distinguished from girdled lizards of the genus Cordylus by the presence of granular scales on the back instead of osteoderms. However, recent molecular data places Pseudocordylus within Cordylus.[1]
Pseudocordylus
Scientific classification :
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Cordylidae
Genus:Pseudocordylus
A. Smith, 1838[1]
Species :
The following six species are recognized as being valid.[2]:
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Pseudocordylus langi Loveridge, 1944 – Lang's girdled lizard, near threatened (LR/nt)
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Pseudocordylus melanotus (A. Smith, 1838)
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Pseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829)
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Pseudocordylus spinosus V. FitzSimons, 1947 – prickly girdled lizard, near threatened (LR/nt)
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Pseudocordylus subviridis (A. Smith, 1838)
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Pseudocordylus transvaalensis V. FitzSimons, 1943
Video :
Pseudocordylus melanotus subviridus
Other websites :
- alchetron.com/Pseudocordylus-4111309-W
- www.reptile-care.de/species/Scincoidea/Cordylidae.html
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7057464
- animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pseudocordylus/classification/
courtesy to : research.amnh.org/users/estanley/Ed_Stanley/Pseudocordylus.html
The genus Pseudocordylus contains at least six species of robustly built, lightly armored lizards that occur from the northern Drakensberg to the Cape Fold Mountains. Three of the species overlap in the northeast edge of Lesotho, although it appears that the various ranges are divided attitudinally, with P.spinosus occurring at lower altitudes, P.subviridis in the middle areas and P.langi restricted to the highest peaks (above 3000m). Like the flat lizards, Pseudocordylus display extreme sexual dichromatism, with males being more brightly colored than females, although ritualized courtship and aggregation behavior of Platysaurushas not been recorded. The reduced dermal armor, sexual dichromatism and specialization for crevice dwelling lead to the proposal that crag lizards and flat lizards are closely related. However, molecular analysis shows that these characters are simply broadly convergent.
Preliminary studies suggest that there may be a good degree of gene flow across Pseudocordylus populations in the Cape Fold and Drakensburg mountains, and much more work is needed to untangle the complex but fascinating relationships of this group
Common names: Crag Lizards, False Cordyles
Number of species: six (three subspecies)
Habitat: Rupicolous
Range: The Drakensburg and Cape Fold Mountains
Reproduction: viviparous (1- 6 offspring)
Diet: Insectivorous
Content:
P. microlepidotus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829)
P. microlepidotus faciatus (Smith, 1838)
P. microlepidotus namaquensis (Hewitt, 1927)
P. melanotus (Smith, 1838)
P. subviridis (Smith, 1838)
P. langi Loveridge, 1944
P. spinosus FitzSimons, 1947
P. transvaalensis FitzSimons, 1943
FAMILY CORDYLIDAE
1- Genus Cordylus - girdled or Armadillo lizard
2- Genus Chamaesaura - Grass lizards
3- Genus Platysaurus - Flat lizards
Pseudocordylus : Introduction and general articles
Pseudocordylus species :
1- Pseudocordylus melanotus or Common Crag Lizard:
Pseudocordylus : Introduction and general articles
Pseudocordylus species :
1- Pseudocordylus melanotus or Common Crag Lizard: