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Karusasaurus polyzonus (SMITH, 1838)

IUCN Red List - Karusasaurus polyzonus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaCordylidae (Cordylinae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Southern Karusa Lizard, Karoo Girdled Lizard 
SynonymCordylus polyzonus SMITH 1838: 31
Zonurus polyzonus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 357
Zonurus polyzonus — BOULENGER 1885: 257
Zonurus polyzonus — ROUX 1907
Cordylus polyzonus — ELZEN 1980
Cordylus polyzonus — FROST et al. 2001
Karusasaurus polyzonus — STANLEY et al. 2011
Karusasaurus polyzonus — BATES et al. 2014: 196
Karusasaurus polyzonus — SCHLEICHER 2020 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (C/W Cape, extending into S OSF), Namibia

Type locality: South Africa.  
ReproductionOvoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.8.8.16-19 
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 487 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentType species: Cordylus polyzonus SMITH 1838 is the type species of the genus Karusasaurus STANLEY et al. 2011.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyThe genus was named after the Khoisan word karusa, meaning dry, barren, thirstland, and the Latinized Greek saurus – lizard, and referencing the distribution of the type species which extends across the semi-arid Karoo. The word is masculine [from STANLEY et al. 2011]. 
References
  • BARTS, M. & W.R. BRANCH 2012. Karusasaurus polyzonus (SMITH). Sauria 34 (3): 1-2 - 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, 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]
  • 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. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - 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. 1994. Herpetofauna of the Sperrgebeit [sic] Region of Southern Namibia. Herpetological Natural History 2 (1): 1-11.
  • Conradie, Werner; Brian Reeves , Neil Brown, & Jan A. Venter 2016. Herpetofauna of the Oviston, Commando Drift and Tsolwana nature reserves in the arid interior of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Indago 32: 81-98 - 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
  • Elzen, Paul van den 1980. Cordylus polyzonus polyzonus (Smith). Supplément à la Revue Francaise d'Aquariologie, 7 (3), 3/1980: 2 S.
  • Flemming, A.F. & J.H. van Wyk 1992. The Female Reproductive Cycle of the Lizard Cordylus p. polyzonus (Sauria: Cordylidae) in the Southwestern Cape Province, South Africa Journal of Herpetology 26 (2): 121-127. - 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
  • 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
  • Loehr, V., Zwartepoorte, H. A. 1995. De Karoo-gordelstaarthagedis (Cordylus polyzonus). Lacerta 53 (5): 143-147 - get paper here
  • Mouton, P. Le Fras N., Cara J. Nieuwoudt, Nic C. Badenhorst and Alexander F. Flemming 2002. Melanistic Cordylus polyzonus (Sauria: Cordylidae) populations in the Western Cape, South Africa: Relics or Ecotypes? Journal of Herpetology 36 (3): 526-531 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Reissig, J. 2014. Girdled Lizards and Their Relatives. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, ISBN-10: 3899734378
  • Rensburg, D.A. Janse van; Mouton, P. le F.N. & Niekerk, A. van 2009. Why cordylid lizards are black at the south-western tip of Africa. Journal of Zoology 278: 333–341 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2015. Reptilien Namibias. Namibia Scientific  Society, 276 pp.
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Schwier, H. 2007. Gürtelschweife - die Gattung Cordylus. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (65): 16-23 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1838. Contributions to South African zoology. Art. VI. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 2: 30-33 - 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
  • 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
  • Visagie, Louise; Mouton, P. le Fras N.; Bauwens, Dirk 2005. Experimental Analysis of Grouping Behaviour in Cordylid Lizards. The Herpetological Journal 15: 91-96 - get paper here
 
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