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Chamaesaura aenea (FITZINGER, 1843)

IUCN Red List - Chamaesaura aenea - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaCordylidae (Cordylinae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Coppery Grass Lizard, Transvaal Snake Lizard 
SynonymCricochalcis aenea FITZINGER 1843
Chamaesaura miodactyla GÜNTHER 1880: 235
Chamaesaura aenea — BOULENGER 1885: 263
Chamaesaura aenea — BOYCOTT 1992
Cordylus aeneus — FROST et al. 2001
Chamaesaura aenea — STANLEY et al. 2011
Chamaesaura aenea — STANDER 2023: 84
Chamaesaura aenea — CERÍACO et al. 2026 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (Transvaal, Oranje Free State, Natal, Eswatini (Swaziland), Winterberg Mountains [JHAF 4:36]), Lesotho

Type locality: “Südafrika” (FITZINGER 1843 said only “Afr.” whereas “Südafrika” is written on the label in the jar of the holotype [BAUER et al. 1994])  
ReproductionOvoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 1172 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions are available for collaborators and contributors. We will relaease that material sometime next year. Please contact us if you need any of this data earlier than that. 
CommentReference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species.

Distribution: see map in Ceriaco et al. 2026: 59 (Fig. 1) 
EtymologyNamed after its color: Latin “aenea/-us” = bronze, copper, or ore. 
References
  • Bates, M.F. 1995. Life History Notes - Chamaesaura aenea. African Herp News (22): 46-47 - 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.
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Lang, Mathias & Günther, Rainer 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. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 70 (1): 85-92. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - 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.; Haagner, G.V. 1992. Life History Notes - Chamaesaura aenea. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (41): 42-42 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Branch, William R. & Haagner, Gerald V. 1992. Geographical Distribution. Sauria: Cordylidae: Chamaesaura aenea (Fitzinger, 1843). Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa (Humewood), 41: 36. - get paper here
  • Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp. - 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
  • Günther,C.A.L.G. 1880. Description of new species of reptiles from eastern Africa. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 6 (33): 234-238 - get paper here
  • Hewitt, John 1911. Records of South African Lacertilia and Amphibia, Addenda and Corrigenda. Annals Transvaal Museum 3 (1): 42-55. - get paper here
  • Kopij, G. 2026. Vertebrate Fauna of Lesotho: An Ecological Monograph. Cambridge Scholars Publishing - get paper here
  • Stander, R.I. 2023. The Reptiles of the Limpopo Province and Kruger National Park. Herp Nomad, Polokwane, South Africa, 367 pp. - 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
  • Tolley, K.A., Conradie, W., Pietersen, D.W., Weeber, J., Burger, M. & Alexander, G.J. (eds) 2023. Conservation status of the reptiles of South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. Suricata 10. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here
 
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