Limpopo girdled lizard

Limpopo girdled lizard
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Cordylidae
Genus:	Cordylus
Species:	C. jonesii
Binomial name
Cordylus jonesii (Boulenger, 1891)
Synonyms[2]
Zonurus jonesii Boulenger, 1891 Zonurus cordylus jonesii — Power, 1930 Cordylus jonesii V. FitzSimons, 1943 Cordylus cordylus jonesii — Loveridge, 1944 Cordylus tropidosternum jonesii — Auerbach, 1987 Cordylus jonesii — Broadley & Branch, 2002

The Limpopo girdled lizard (Cordylus jonesii), also known commonly as Jones's armadillo lizard and Jones's girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is indigenous to Southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, jonesii, is in honor of a "Mr. C. R. Jones" who collected the holotype.[3] The common name, Limpopo girdled lizard, refers to the type locality, which is the Murchison Range in Limpopo.[2]

Geographic range

C. jonesii is found on both sides of South Africa's border with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.[1]

Habitat and behavior

The Limpopo girdled lizard is arboreal and inhabits dry forests, especially mopane woodland, where it hides under loose bark and in hollow tree limbs.[1]

Diet

C. jonesii preys upon winged termites, ants, and moths.[4]

Reproduction

C. jonesii is ovoviviparous.[2] Litter size is usually two young, but may be as many as four.[4]

Description

The dorsal pattern of C. jonesii varies from red to brown to gray, with dark spots or lines. On some individuals, the lines fuse into a black-bordered white stripe along the midline of the back. The Limpopo girdled lizard has a distinct dark dorsolateral stripe running from the head to the hips. The belly, throat, and lips are cream to yellow. The tail is very spiny and about 45% the total length of the animal. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6.0–7.5 cm (2.4–3.0 in).[4]

Taxonomy

The Limpopo girdled lizard is sometimes classified as a subspecies of the tropical girdled lizard (Cordylus tropidosternum).[4] When both species are held together, the Limpopo girdled lizard has a noticeably shorter snout.^[citation needed] In C. jonesii the nostril pierces the center of the nasal scale (the lower posterior corner of the nasal in C. tropidosternum).^[citation needed] All of the ventral scales on the throat and belly of C. jonesii are smooth instead of keeled.[4] C. jonesii is exported from Mozambique for the pet trade, where it is often mislabeled as Cordylus vittifer.^[citation needed]

References

1. Alexander, G.J.; Tolley, K.A. (2021). "Cordylus jonesii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T110159440A139708864. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Uetz, Peter; Hallermann, Jakob. "Cordylus jonesii (BOULENGER, 1891)". The Reptiles Database. Zoological Museum Hamburg. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
3. 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 jonesii, p. 136).
4. Branch (2004).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1891). "Description of a new Lizard of the Genus Zonurus from the Transvaal". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 7: 417. (Zonurus jonesii, new species).
• Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Cordylus tropidosternum jonesi, p. 195 + Plate 66).
• Broadley DG, Branch WR (2002). "A review of the small east African Cordylus (Sauria: Cordylidae), with the description of a new species". African Journal of Herpetology 51 (1): 9–34.