Cordylus macropholis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Cordylus
Species:
C. macropholis
Binomial name
Cordylus macropholis
(Boulenger, 1910)

Cordylus macropholis, the large-scaled girdled lizard, is a small (55-77 mm) lizard endemic to the west coast of South Africa.[2] They spend most of their time on and around a single plant species, Euphorbia caput-medusae which only occupies around 5% of the vegetation present.[3] It is thought that they restrict themselves to these plants because they provide safer hiding places than most other shrubs, house a large range of invertebrate prey, and provide good thermal microhabitats.[3] They can additionally be found sunbathing on, or hiding in between rocks, as these could provide protection from larger predators from which their physical adaptations might not provided them with adequate protection.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Tolley, K.A., Weeber, J., Conradie, W., Pietersen, D. & Alexander, G. (2022). "Cordylus macropholis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T110159555A197422521. Retrieved 30 July 2022.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Branch, W.R. (1998). Field guide to snakes and other reptiles of southern Africa (3rd ed.). Ralph Curtis Books. ISBN 978-0-88359-042-3.
  3. 1 2 Bauwens, Dirk; Castilla, Aurora M.; Mouton, P. le Fras N. (September 1999). "Field body temperatures, activity levels and opportunities for thermoregulation in an extreme microhabitat specialist, the girdled lizard (Cordylus macropholis)". Journal of Zoology. 249 (1): 11–18. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01056.x. hdl:10261/55677.
  4. ↑ Broeckhoven, Chris; Diedericks, Genevieve; Mouton, P. le Fras N.; Wang, DeHua (September 2015). "What doesn't kill you might make you stronger: functional basis for variation in body armour". Journal of Animal Ecology. 84 (5): 1213–1221. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12414. PMID 26104546.
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