Chamaesaura aenea

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha
Superfamilia: Scincoidea

Familia: Cordylidae
Subfamilia: Cordylinae
Genus: Chamaesaura
Species: Chamaesaura aenea
Name

Chamaesaura aenea (Fitzinger, 1843)

Holotype: ZMB 1172, juvenile indet.

Type locality: “Afr.”; restricted to “Südafrika” (written on the label in the jar of the holotype) by Bauer, Lang & Günther (1994: 89).
Combinations

Cricochalcis aenea Fitzinger, 1843: 21 [original combination]
Chamaesaura aenea — Boulenger, 1885: 263 [name combination]
[Cordylus aeneus] — Frost et al., 2001: 8 [name combination, by implication]
Chamaesaura aenea — Stanley et al., 2011: 65 [name combination]

Synonyms

Chamaesaura miodactyla Günther, 1880: 235

Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.29.48.

Type locality: “Peri-Bush”, Cape Province, South Africa.
References
Primary references

Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page.
Günther, A.C.L.G. 1880. Description of new species of reptiles from eastern Africa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 5, 6(33): 234–238. DOI: 10.1080/00222938009458928 BHL Reference page.
Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume 2. Iguanidae, Xenosauridae, Zonuridae, Anguidae, Aniellidae, Helodermatidae, Varanidae, Xantusiidae, Teiidae, Amphisbaenidae. Second edition. Trustees of the British Museum: London. xiii + 497 pp., 24 pls. BHL Reference page.
Bauer, A.M., Lang, M. & Günther, R. 1994. An Annotated Type Catalogue of the Pygopods, Xantusiids, Gerrhosaurs and Cordylids (Reptilia: Squamata: Pygopodidae, Xantusiidae, Gerrhosauridae and Cordylidae) in the Collection of the Zoological Museum, Berlin. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 70(1): 85–92. DOI: 10.1002/mmnz.19940700103 Reference page.
Frost, D.R., Janies, D., Mouton, P. Le F.N. & Titus, T.A. 2001. A molecular perspective on the phylogeny of the girdled lizards (Cordylidae, Squamata). American Museum Novitates 3310: 1–10. DOI: 10.1206/0003-0082(2001)310<0001:AMPOTP>2.0.CO;2 handle. Reference page.
Stanley, E.L., Bauer, A.M., Jackman, T.R., Branch, W.R. & Mouton, P. Le F.N. 2011. Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58(1): 53–70. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.08.024 Reference page.

Additional references

Branch, W.R. & Haagner, G.V. 1992. Geographical Distribution. Sauria: Cordylidae: Chamaesaura aenea (Fitzinger, 1843). Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 41: 36.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Chamaesaura aenea. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 30 April 2017.

Vernacular names
English: Transvaal Snake Lizard

The Transvaal grass lizard, also known as the coppery grass lizard and Transvaal snake lizard (Chamaesaura aenea)[3] is a species of lizard in the genus Chamaesaura. It is found in southern African grasslands and on slopes.[4] The Transvaal grass lizard is ovoviparous.[5] The scientific name refers to its copper colour.

It was first described in 1843 by Fitzinger (who named it Cricochalcis aenea), based on specimens at the Natural History Museum in Berlin that were collected in South Africa by Ludwig Krebs.[6]

Distribution
On a rock in a Drakensberg stream

The Transvaal grass lizard inhabits South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland.[2] It can be found in grasslands and on slopes and ridges.[4]
Habits and breeding

This lizard is ovoviviparous, meaning mothers carry eggs inside their bodies until they are ready to hatch.[5]
Conservation

Neither the Southern African Red Data nor the International Red Data list the Transvaal grass lizard. However, the Swaziland Red Data puts the lizard at Near Threatened levels.[4]
Name

The scientific name of this lizard, Chamaesaura aenea, is due to the lizard's copper color. Aenea is a Latin word meaning "bronze" or "copper."[5]
See also

Chamaesaura

References

Bates, M.F.; Tolley, K.A. (2018). "Chamaesaura aenea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T110158816A115673490. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T110158816A115673490.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
"Chamaesaura aenea". UNEP-WCMC Species Database. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
"Chamaesaura aenea names". UNEP-WCMC Species Database. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
"Reptiles Checklist". Swaziland National Trust Commission. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
"Chamaesaura aenea FITZINGER, 1843". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
Aaron M. Bauer, "Early German Herpetological Observations and Explorations of Southern Africa, with special reference to the Zoological Museum of Berlin", Bonn Zoological Bulletin, Volume 52, No. 3/4, November 30, 2004, p 205.