The ''Chamaesaura'', also known as grass lizards, are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of legless

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s from southern and eastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The limbs are reduced to small spikes. Chamaesaura propel themselves like snakes, pushing against contact points in the environment, such as rocks, plants and irregularities in the soil.Cogger, H 1993 Fauna of Australia. Vol. 2A Amphibia and Reptilia. Australian Biological Resources Studies, Canberra. They are

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

and eat small invertebrates, especially

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

Species

*'' Chamaesaura aenea'' – coppery grass lizard, Transvaal snake lizard *''

Chamaesaura anguina The Cape grass lizard (''Chamaesaura anguina''), also known as the Cape snake lizard or the highland grass lizard, is a species of lizard in the genus Chamaesaura. It widely found in southern Africa, inhabiting grasslands. In one of the countrie ...

'' – Cape grass lizard, Cape snake lizard *'' Chamaesaura macrolepis'' – large-scale grass lizard, large-scale snake lizard *'' Chamaesaura miopropus'' – Zambian snake lizard, Zambian grass lizard *'' Chamaesaura tenuior'' – Cape snake lizard

References

*Branch, B., 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing, Sanibel Island, Florida, 399 p. * Spawls, S., Howell, K, Drewes, R, and Ashe, J, 2002. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa: Academic Press, San Diego, 543 p. Lizard genera Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider {{lizard-stub