Cordylidae is a family of small- to medium-sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as girdled lizards, spinytail lizards, or girdle-tail lizards.
The Chamaesaura, also known as grass lizards, are a genus of legless lizards from southern and eastern Africa. The limbs are reduced to small spikes. Chamaesaura propel themselves like snakes, pushing against contact points in the environment, such as rocks, plants and irregularities in the soil. They are viviparous and eat small invertebrates, especially grasshoppers.
The genus Cordylus includes a wide variety of species of small to medium spiny lizards from Africa, collectively called girdle-tailed lizards or girdled lizards. All are diurnal and ovoviviparous. Most species are rupicolous (rock-dwelling), while a few species are arboreal or live in burrows. They defend themselves with osteoderms and by quickly retreating into rock crevices or burrows. Many species live in groups, and males defend territories.
Ablepharus is a genus of skinks that contains the common snake-eyed skinks. Both their scientific and common names refer to the fact that their eyelids have fused to a translucent capsule; as in snakes, they thus are physically incapable of blinking. They are small lizards and prefer to live in the leaf litter of dry fields and hills. Their scales give them a very shiny, bronze appearance with a characteristically dark stripe down the sides of their bodies. They prey on small insects and other small mollusks.
The yellow-throated plated lizard or plated lizard is a species of lizard, which is about 45½ cm in total length and lives in the grassland and scrub of Sudan, Ethiopia and along Eastern Africa down to South Africa.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The sungazer, also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa. This threatened species is endemic to Highveld grasslands in the interior of South Africa. In 2011, it was assigned to the new genus Smaug, along with seven other species previously belonging to the genus Cordylus, based on a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Cordylidae.
Lang's crag lizard, also known commonly as Lang's girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa.
The Lebombo flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae.
The Sekukhune flat lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. It has two subspecies.
Warren's girdled lizard is a species of relatively large, flattened lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is native to Southern Africa.
The Cape grass lizard, also known as the Cape snake lizard or the highland grass lizard, is a species of lizard in the genus Chamaesaura. It widely found in southern Africa, inhabiting grasslands. In one of the countries it lives in, Eswatini, it is listed as a Near Threatened species.
The large-scale grass lizard, also known as the large-scaled snake lizard, Zambian grass lizard, or Zambian snake lizard, is a species of lizard in the genus Chamaesaura. It lives scattered across southern Africa with two subspecies.
Inyoka is a monotypic genus of southern African snakes. The word "inyoka" means "snake" in Zulu, Xhosa, Swahili, Shona and other African languages. These snakes were previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but were found to be closer related to Hormonotus; a substantial genetic divergence between them and a 1900 km gap between their geographic ranges meant a new genus was erected for Lamprophis swazicus, the sole species of the new genus.
Namazonurus campbelli, commonly known as Campbell's girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. A small girdled lizard, N. campbelli is endemic to Namibia. It is often mistaken for the more common Herero girdled lizard, N. pustulatus, as they both are similar in size and have flattened bodies. N. campbelli lives in rock crevices and cracks on dry mountain slopes
Van Dam's girdled lizard is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.
Pseudocordylus melanotus, also known as the common crag lizard or Highveld crag lizard, is a species of lizard found in Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa. Pseudocordylus subviridis is considered a distinct species by the Reptile Database, but a subspecies of Pseudocordylus melanotus by IUCN.
Scelotes duttoni is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique.
Scelotes fitzsimonsi, also known commonly as Fitzsimons' dwarf burrowing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is indigenous to southern Africa.
Tetradactylus fitzsimonsi, commonly known as Fitzsimons' long-tailed seps and FitzSimons' whip lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae. The species is endemic to South Africa.
