''Cordylus niger'', the black girdled lizard, is a medium-sized lizard restricted to

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...

on the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

and a second, isolated population near

Langebaan Langebaan is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa on the eastern shore of Langebaan Lagoon. Langebaan is situated 120 km north of Cape Town, just off the R27, about 28 km from Vredenburg and 20 km from Saldanha Bay. ...

. Black girdled lizards inhabit rocky outcrops on

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Unlike many other lizard species in the area, these particular ''

Cordylus The genus ''Cordylus'' (Sauria: Cordylidae) includes a wide variety of species of small to medium spiny lizards from Africa, collectively called girdle-tailed lizards or girdled lizards. All are diurnal and ovoviviparous (live-bearing, without s ...

'' lizards are not social and are usually seen alone. They are spiny, flat, and pitch black in colour. Their colour helps these unique lizards to absorb sufficient heat from the sun, in what is one of the darkest, least sunny parts of South Africa.

Gallery

File:Lagarto (Cordylus niger), cabo de Buena Esparanza, Sudáfrica, 2018-07-23, DD 83.jpg, Black girdled lizard, Cape of Good Hope File:BlackGirdledLizard.JPG, Close up of the head of a black girdled lizard File:Black girdled lizard 2.jpg, Black girdled lizard on a rock, Table Mountain.

Gallery

References

Further reading