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Cordylus vittifer (REICHENOW, 1887)

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Higher TaxaCordylidae (Cordylinae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Transvaal Girdled Lizard
G: Gewöhnlicher Gürtelschweif 
SynonymZonurus vittifer REICHENOW 1887: 372
Zonurus cordylus var. vittifer ROUX 1907
Zonurus tropidogaster BOULENGER 1910
Cordylus vittifer vittifer — BROADLEY 1971
Cordylus vittifer vittifer — AUERBACH 1987: 121
Cordylus vittifer vittifer — BOYCOTT 1992
Cordylus vittifer — STANLEY et al. 2011
Cordylus vittifer — REISSIG 2014 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (Transvaal, Zululand), SE Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique

Type locality: Transvaal, South Africa.  
ReproductionOvoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 10762 
Diagnosis 
CommentSubspecies: Cordylus vittifer machadoi LAURENT, 1964 is now considered as a valid species.

Distribution: see map in GREENBAUM et al. 2012. Not listed for Angola by MARQUES et al. 2018. 
EtymologyNamed after the pale stripes, visible in some specimen on the dorsal side, from Latin “vitta” = headband, or band, and “-fer” = carrying. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Bates MF, Lobón-Rovira J, Stanley EL, Branch WR, Vaz Pinto P 2023. A new species of green-eyed Cordylus Laurenti, 1768 from the west-central highlands of Angola, and the rediscovery of Cordylus angolensis (Bocage, 1895) (Squamata: Cordylidae). Vertebrate Zoology 73: 599-646 - get paper here
  • BATES, M. F. & BROADLEY, D. G. 2012. Cordylus vittifer Reichenow, 1887. African Herp News (56): 34-35 - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Blerk, Dan van; Jens Reissig, Julia L. Riley, John Measey, James Baxter-Gilbert 2021. Observations of infanticide and cannibalism from four species of cordylid lizard (Squamata: Cordylidae) in captivity and the wild. Herpetology Notes 14: 725-729 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1910. A revised list of the South African reptiles and batrachians, with synoptic tables, special reference to the specimens in the South African Museum, and descriptions of new species. Annals of the South African Museum 5: 455-543 - get paper here
  • Boycott, R.C. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - get paper here
  • Branch, W. R. 1998. Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. 3rd ed. Fully Revised and Updated to Include 83 New Species. Ralph Curtis Books (Sanibel Island, Florida), 399 pp.
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Ceríaco, Luis M. P.; Mariana P. Marques, Ilunga André, Esteves Afonso, David C. Blackburn & Aaron M. Bauer 2020. ILLUSTRATED TYPE CATALOGUE OF THE “LOST” HERPETOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS OF MUSEU DO DUNDO, ANGOLA. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 162 (7): 379-440 - get paper here
  • Frost, D.; Janies, D.; Le Fras N. Mouton, P. & Titus, T. 2003. A molecular perspective on the phylogeny of the Girdled Lizards (Cordylidae, Squamata). American Museum Novitates (3310): 1-10 - get paper here
  • Greenbaum, Eli; Edward L. Stanley, Chifundera Kusamba, Wandege M. Moninga, Stephen R. Goldberg & Charles R. Bursey 2012. A new species of Cordylus (Squamata: Cordylidae) from the Marungu Plateau of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. African Journal of Herpetology 61 (1): 14-39 - get paper here
  • Jacobsen, N.H.G. 1972. Some Notes on the Biology and Behaviour of the Transvaal girdled Lizard, Cordylus vittifer in Captivity. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (9): 35-37 - get paper here
  • Laurent, R.F. 1964. Reptiles et batraciens de l'Angola (troisième contribution). Companhia de Di amantes de Angola (Diamang), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola), No. 67, 165 pp.
  • MOUTON, P. LE FRAS N.; DAHNÉ A. JANSE VAN RENSBURG and JOHANNES H. VAN WYK 2010. Epidermal glands in cordylid lizards, with special reference to generation glands. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 312–324. - get paper here
  • Reichenow, A. 1887. Neue Wirbelthiere des Zoologischen Museums in Berlin. Zool. Anz. 10: 369- 372. - get paper here
  • Reissig, J. 2014. Girdled Lizards and Their Relatives. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, ISBN-10: 3899734378
  • Roux,J. 1907. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Fauna von Süd-Afrika. Ergebnisse einer Reise von Prof. Max Weber im Jahre 1894. VII. Lacertilia (Eidechsen). Zool. Jahrb., Abt. Syst., Geogr. Biol. Tiere (Jena), 25: 403-444 - get paper here
  • Schwier, H. 2007. Gürtelschweife - die Gattung Cordylus. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (65): 16-23 - get paper here
  • Stanley, Edward L.; Aaron M. Bauer; Todd R. Jackman, William R. Branch, P. Le Fras N. Mouton 2011. Between a rock and a hard polytomy: rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizard (Squamata: Cordylidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 58(1): 53-70. - get paper here
  • Switak, Karl H. 1995. Girdle-tailed lizards of the genus Cordylus. Reptiles 3 (6): 8-24
  • Switak, Karl H. 1995. Die Gürtelschweife der Gattung Cordylus (2). TI-Magazin, Nr. 122 (März 1995), 39-42.v
  • Tolley KA, Telford NS, Makhubo BG, Power RJ, Alexander GJ 2023. Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(1): 101-116 - get paper here
 
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