Smaug breyeri

Smaug breyeri, also known commonly as the Waterberg dragon lizard or the Waterberg girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.[2]

Smaug breyeri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Smaug
Species:
S. breyeri
Binomial name
Smaug breyeri
(Van Dam, 1921)
Synonyms[2]
  • Zonurus breyeri
    Van Dam, 1921
  • Cordylus warreni breyeri
    — V. FitzSimons, 1943
  • Cordylus breyeri
    — Branch, 1998
  • Smaug breyeri
    — E. Stanley et al., 2011

Etymology

The specific name, breyeri, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Hermann Gottfried Breyer.[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. breyeri is rocky areas of savanna, at altitudes of 700–1,700 m (2,300–5,600 ft).[1]

Description

Adults of S. breyeri usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in), but may grow as large as 14.5 cm (5.7 in) SVL.[4]

Reproduction

S. breyeri is viviparous.[2] Two to four young are born in summer. Compared to adults, the neonates are quite large, each measuring about 11 cm (4.3 in) in total length (including tail).[4]

References
  1. Bates, M.F.; Mouton, P.L.F.N. (2018). "Smaug breyeri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T110167723A115679902. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T110167723A115679902.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Smaug breyeri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 October 2020.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cordylus warreni breyeri, p. 38).
  4. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Cordylus breyeri, p. 197 + Plate 105).

Further reading
  • FitzSimons VF (1943). The Lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 1. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xvi + 528 pp. (Cordylus warreni breyeri, new combination).
  • Stanley EL, Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Branch WR, Mouton PLFN (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58 (1): 53–70. (Smaug breyeri, new combination).
  • Van Dam GPF (1921). "Descriptions of new species of Zonurus, and notes on the species of Zonurus occurring in the Transvaal". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 7 (4): 239–243. (Zonurus breyeri, new species).



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