| Pungwe flat lizard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Individual at the Frankfurt Zoo | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Cordylidae |
| Genus: | Platysaurus |
| Species: | P. pungweensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Platysaurus pungweensis Broadley, 1959 | |
The Pungwe flat lizard (Platysaurus pungweensis) is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.
Females and juveniles of the Pungwe flat lizard are black and striped on their backs. Males vary by subspecies. The species resembles the common flat lizard, Platysaurus intermedius.
Pungwe flat lizards live in eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique. [1] [2] The type was obtained at the Pungwe River at 730 m (2,400 ft) above sea level, near the eastern border of Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe). [2]
Pungwe flat lizards inhabit low rock outcrops and large hills in mesic savanna. [1] They eat ants and beetles.
Two subspecies are accepted: [1] [2]
The geography of Mozambique consists mostly of coastal lowlands with uplands in its center and high plateaus in the northwest. There are also mountains in the western portion. The country is located on the east coast of southern Africa, directly west of the island of Madagascar. Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September.
Platysaurus is a genus of lizards, commonly known as flat lizards for their flat backs, in the family Cordylidae.
The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Eastern Highlands extend north and south for about 300 kilometres (190 mi) through Zimbabwe's Manicaland Province and Mozambique's Manica Province.
Pungwe River is a 400 km (250 mi) long river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It rises below Mount Nyangani in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and then flows southeasteastward through the Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique. The Pungwe enters the Urema Valley, the southernmost portion of the Great Rift Valley, where it forms the southern boundary of Gorongosa National Park. The Urema River joins it, and the river follows the rift valley southward. Large seasonal wetlands form around the Pungwe and Urema rivers in the rift valley section. It empties into the Mozambique Channel at Beira, forming a large estuary. It is one of the major rivers of Mozambique and often causes floods.
Buzi River is a river in Mozambique. The Buzi River originates in the Eastern Highlands on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and flows eastward through Manica and Sofala provinces of Mozambique. It empties to the Mozambique Channel west of Beira, forming a large estuary with the Pungwe River.
The Soutpansberg flat lizard is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.
The Waterberg flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is endemic to South Africa.
Platysaurus broadleyi, also known commonly as the Augrabies flat lizard and Broadley's flat lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.
The dwarf flat lizard or lesser flat lizard is a lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is found in Southern Africa.
The emperor flat lizard or imperial flat lizard is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.
The common flat lizard is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family. This lizard has 9 subspecies, all living in southern Africa.
The Lebombo flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae.
The spotted flat lizard is a lizard in the Cordylidae family, which is native to Mozambique.
The orange-throated flat lizard is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.
The ocellated flat lizard or Chimanimani flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is endemic to the Chimanimani Mountains of south eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.
The Sekukhune flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. It has two subspecies.
Platysaurus torquatus, the striped flat lizard or collared flat lizard, is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family found in southeast Africa.
The Mozambique girdled lizard or flame-bellied armadillo lizard is a large, flattened, girdled lizard found on Mount Gorongosa in Mozambique and low elevations in the Chimanimani Mountains at the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It lives in rock outcrops in grasslands and dry, wooded mountain slopes.
The Rhodesian girdled lizard is one of three species of very flattened girdled lizards from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique. The other two species are Cordylus nyikae and Cordylus meculae. They are found living under stones in rock outcrops where they feed on small arthropods. Adults are 60–90 mm long from snout to vent. The tail length is approximately half the total length.
Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, born in Pietermaritzburg, was a notable herpetologist in South Africa. Also, he contributed to the collection of spermatophyte samples for the National Herbarium which has become part of the South African National Biodiversity Institute at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. In 1937, together with Anna Amelia Obermeyer, he collected some of the earliest plant specimens from the Eastern Highlands of Rhodesia.
