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Nucras tessellata (SMITH, 1838)

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Higher TaxaLacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Sandveld Lizard, Tiger Lizard, Striped Sandveld Lizard, Striped or Banded Sand Lizard 
SynonymLacerta tesselata SMITH 1838: 92
Lacerta elegans SMITH 1838
Lacerta tessellata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 244
Nucras tessellata — BOULENGER 1887: 52
Nucras tessellata — BOULENGER 1920: 24
Nucras tessellata — FITZSIMONS 1943: 315
Nucras tessellata — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Nucras tessellata tessellata — AUERBACH 1987: 126
Nucras tessellata — BAUER & BRANCH 2003
Nucras tessellata — PIANKA & VITT 2003: 207
Nucras tesellata — BRANCH & BAUER 2005: 5 (in error)
Nucras tessellata — BRANCH & BAUER 2005: 6
Nucras tessellata — BATES et al. 2014: 171
Nucras aff. tesselata — BRANCH et al. 2019: 317 
DistributionS Namibia, SW Botswana, South Africa

Type locality: "Eastern Districts of Cape Colony"  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.8.6.3 (designated by BROADLEY 1972) 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 522 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecies: Nucras tessellata livida has been elevated to species status by BRANCH & BAUER (1995).

Distribution: populations from Angola have been split off as N. broadleyi.

Diet: a large percentage of the diet of this species (50-80%) consists of ants (Lucas et al. 2023). 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin tesselatus (mosaic), in reference to the arrangement of the scales. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • 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, A.M., and Branch, W.R. 2003. The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Herpetological Natural History 8: 111-160 [2001]
  • BAUER, AARON M.; JACKIE L. CHILDERS, CHRIS BROECKHOVEN, P. LEFRAS N. MOUTON 2019. A new Nucras Gray, 1838 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from the Strandveld of the Western Cape, South Africa. Zootaxa 4560 (1): 149–163 - get paper here
  • Bischoff, W. 2005. Die echten Eidechsen der Familie Lacertidae - eine Übersicht. Draco 5 (21): 4-27 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger,G.A. 1920. Monograph of the Lacertidae, vol. 1. British Museum (London) - get paper here
  • Boycott, R. 1990. Geographical Distribution - Nucras lalandii. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (37): 57-57 - get paper here
  • Branch, W. R. & BAUER, A. M. 1995. The Herpetofauna of the Little Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa, with notes on life history and taxonomy. Herpetological Natural History 3 (1): 47-89
  • Branch, William R. & Bauer, Aaron M. 2005. The herpetological contributions of Sir Andrew Smith. SSAR, 80 pp.
  • Branch, William R.; Pedro Vaz Pinto, Ninda Baptista, and Werner Conradie 2019. The Reptiles of Angola: History, Diversity, Endemism and Hotspots. Chapter 13 in: B. J. Huntley et al. (eds.), Biodiversity of Angola. Springer Verlag, pp. 283-334 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. 1965. Some Problems Presented by the Sand Lizards of the Nucras tessellata Group. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (1): 18-23 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1972. A review of the Nucras tessellata group (Sauria: Lacertidae). Arnoldia 20: 1-35
  • Burger, M. 1993. Life History Notes - Nucras tessellata livida. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (42): 36-36 - get paper here
  • Burger, M. 1993. Geographical Distribution - Nucras tessellata livida. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (42): 41-41 - get paper here
  • Cavalcanti, Lucas B Q; Gabriel C Costa, Guarino R Colli, Eric R Pianka, Laurie J Vitt, Daniel O Mesquita 2023. Myrmecophagy in lizards: evolutionary and ecological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023;, zlad175, - get paper here
  • Cooper Jr, W.E, & M.J. Whiting. 1999. Foraging modes in lacertid lizards from southern Africa. Amphibia-Reptilia 20 (3): 299-311 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1839. Erpétologie Générale on Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Vol. 5. Roret/Fain et Thunot, Paris, 871 pp. - get paper here
  • Edwards, Shelley; Krystal A. Tolley, Bieke Vanhooydonck, G. John Measey and Anthony Herrel 2013. Is dietary niche breadth linked to morphology and performance in Sandveld lizards Nucras (Sauria: Lacertidae)? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, DOI: 10.1111/bij.12148 - get paper here
  • FitzSimons, V.F. 1943. The lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No.1 (Pretoria), 528 pp.
  • Fitzsimons, V.F.M.; Brain, C.K. 1958. A Short account of the Reptiles of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Koedoe, 1(1): 99-104 - get paper here
  • Goldberg, S.R. 2006. Note on Reproduction of the Striped Sandveld Lizard, Nucras tessellata (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Southern Africa Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 42(3): 137-139. - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Huey, R. B., Miles, D. B., & Pianka, E. R. 2021. Seasonality in Kgalagadi Lizards: Inferences from Legacy Data. American Naturalist 198 (6): 759-771 - get paper here
  • Huey, Raymond B.; Eric R. Pianka 1977. Seasonal Variation in Thermoregulatory Behavior and Body Temperature of Diurnal Kalahari Lizards. Ecology 58 (5):1066-1075
  • Huey, Raymound B.; Eric R. Pianka 1981. Ecological Consequences of Foraging Mode. Ecology 62 (4):991-999
  • Pianka, E.R. & Vitt, L.J. 2003. Lizards - Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. University of California Press, Berkeley, 347 pp. [review in Copeia 2004: 955] - get paper here
  • Pianka, Eric R. 1971. Lizard species density in the Kalahari Desert. Ecology 52 (6): 1024-1029 - get paper here
  • Plessis, I.J. du and P.leF.N. Mouton 2011. Habitat Preferences of Three Sympatric Lacertid Lizards in the Arid Tankwa Karoo Basin of South Africa. African Zoology 46 (1): 88-94 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1838. Contributions to the Natural History of Southern Africa. Art. VIII. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, 2 (14): 92-94
  • 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
 
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