Karusasaurus jordani

Jordan's girdled lizard
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Cordylidae
Genus:	Karusasaurus
Species:	K. jordani
Binomial name
Karusasaurus jordani (Parker, 1936)
Synonyms [2]
Zonurus jordani Parker, 1936 Cordylus jordani — FitzSimons, 1943 Cordylus polyzonus jordani — Loveridge, 1944 Cordylus jordani — Branch, 1988 Karusasaurus jordani — Stanley et al., 2011

Karusasaurus jordani, also known commonly as Jordan's girdled lizard and the Namibian girdled lizard, is a species of small, spiny lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to Namibia. ^{[1] [2]}

Etymology

The specific name, jordani, is in honor of German-born British entomologist Heinrich Ernst Karl Jordan. ^[3]

Geographic range

K. jordani is found in central Namibia. ^{[1] [2]}

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of K. jordani is rocky hillsides in savanna, at altitudes of 1,000–1,800 m (3,300–5,900 ft). ^[1]

Description

Adults of K. jordani usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in), and maximum recorded SVL is 12.7 cm (5.0 in). The body is robust, not flattened. Adults are uniformly olive-brown, but juveniles are buff with dark crossbars. Males have only 5–8 femoral pores. ^[4]

Reproduction

The mode of reproduction of K. jordani has been described as viviparous ^[1] and as ovoviviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Bauer, A.M.; Becker, F. (2020). "Karusasaurus jordani ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T110161006A110161062. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T110161006A110161062.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Karusasaurus jordani at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 20 October 2020.
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 jordani, p. 136).
4. 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 jordani, p. 193 + Plate 69).

Further reading

• Parker HW (1936). "Dr. Karl Jordan's Expedition to South-West Africa and Angola: Herpetological Collections". Novitates Zoologica (Tring) 40: 115–146. (Zonurus jordani, new species, pp. 133–134).
• FitzSimons VF (1943). The Lizards of South Africa. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xv + 528 pp. (Cordylus jordani, new combination).
• Schleicher, Alfred (2020). Reptiles of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Kuiseb Publishers. 271 pp.
• 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 Evolution58: 53–70. (Karusasaurus jordani, new combination).