Cordylus rhodesianus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
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: Cordylus
Species: Cordylus rhodesianus
Name

Cordylus rhodesianus (Hewitt, 1933)

Syntypes: MCZ 33448 (ex-AMG 6583); NMZB 1222 (ex AMG 6605) - 1223 (ex AMG 6583); PEM/R 5294-6 (ex AMG 6583).

Type locality: “Monte Cassino [Mission], Macheke, Southern Rhodesia [=Zimbabwe]”.
Combinations

Zonurus cordylus rhodesianus Hewitt, 1933: 48 [original combination]
Cordylus cordylus rhodesianus — FitzSimons, 1939: 459 [subsequent combination]
Cordylus rhodesianus — Broadley, 1971: 20 [subsequent combination]

References
Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Cordylus rhodesianus. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 23 October 2018.

Vernacular names
English: Zimbabwean Girdled Lizard

The Rhodesian girdled lizard (Cordylus rhodesianus) 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.

Also known as the Zimbabwe girdled lizard, they live in rocky montane grasslands of eastern Zimbabwe. The head shields are smooth or slightly rugose. The nostril is pierced in the center of the nasal scale and the dorsal scales have a serrated posterior margin. The back is olive-brown with irregularly spaced dark and light blotches. The belly is yellow to gray. Both sexes have femoral pores.

Zimbabwe girdled lizards are exported from Mozambique for the pet trade. Zimbabwe girdled lizards remain skittish in captivity and require numerous hiding places constructed with stacked rocks.
References

Branch, B., 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing, Sanibel Island, Florida, 399 p.

Branch, W. R., Rodel, M.-O., and Marais, J., 2005. A new species of rupicolous Cordylus Laurenti 1768 (Sauria: Cordylidae) from Northern Mozambique: African Journal of Herpetology, 54(2): 131-138.

Broadley, D. G., and Branch, W. R., 2002. A review of the small east African Cordylus (Sauria: Cordylidae), with the description of a new species: African Journal of Herpetology, 51(1): 9-34.

Broadley, D. G., and Mouton, P. F. N., 2000. A new species of rupicolous Cordylus Laurenti from Malawi (Sauria: Cordylidae): African Journal of Herpetology, 49(2): 169-172.