Hemicordylus capensis

False girdled lizard
In the Hottentots-Holland, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Cordylidae
Genus:	Hemicordylus
Species:	H. capensis
Binomial name
Hemicordylus capensis (Smith 1838) Stanley at al, 2011
Synonyms
Cordylus capensis Pseudocordylus capensis Hemicordylus robertsi

The False girdled lizard (Hemicordylus capensis), is a lizard species endemic to the Cape Fold Belt of southern South Africa.

Description

The maximum snout-to-vent length is about 76 mm. Like its sisterspecies Hemicordylus nebulosus, it has gracile features, with a phenotype that is described as intermediate between typical Cordylus and the larger, more robust Pseudocordylus. They have long limbs, and long slender digits. Some populations are melanistic and sexually dichromatic.

Habits

Their specialized adaptation to steep rock faces, is believed to have favoured their agility and lightly armored anatomy.^[1] They give live birth to 1–3 young.

Reference

1. ^ Eifler et al., 2007; Janse van Rensburg, 2009; Janse van Rensburg et al., 2009

• Hemicordylus resurrected: Stanley et al, 2011, Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)