''Ichnotropis capensis'' is a species of African lizard, which is native to the southern

Afrotropics The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

for the genus ''

Ichnotropis ''Ichnotropis'' is a genus of African lizards in the family Lacertidae. Species in the genus ''Ichnotropis'' are commonly called rough-scaled lizards."''Ichnotropis'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Species The following six s ...

'', and is commonly called the Cape rough-scaled lizard due to them being found in southern Africa's Cape region. They are also called ornate rough-scaled lizard or Smith's rough-scaled sand lizard. The small lizards are terrestrial and occur in grassland, desert and brush areas of southern Africa.

Description

''I. capensis'' are medium-sized lizards with slender bodies, long tails, and well developed legs. Most of the specimens found are less than 76 mm long in snout–to-vent lengt
(SVL)
and share the general characteristics of its genus, including the following: * Keeled or overlapping dorsal scales are present, and the head shields are smooth to slightly rough *

Subocular In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term ''oculus'' which ...

scales border the lip, and no collar is present * Smooth or tubular lamellae are present under the toes, but the toes lack a serrated or fringed edge * The cylindrical tail lacks a lateral fringe ''I. capensis'' is notably distinct from the genus in that the hind legs do not reach the underarm of the forelimbs. Adults have uniform grey and yellowish brown backs with white lateral stripes that may be bordered with dark black spots. The juvenile has a pale grey and brown back with white lateral stripes.

Races

There are two accepted races: * ''Ichnotropis capensis capensis'' (A.Smith, 1838) * ''Ichnotropis capensis nigrescens'' Laurent, 1952

Habitat

It occurs in semi-arid shrub savannas of Africa, where they seek shelter in soft soiled burrows, under rocks and brush. The species has been reported from

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 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

.''Ichnotropis capensis''
fro
the Database
online

Biology

These lizards are

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

and feed on termites and other small insects. They are active hunters during the day and many specimens have been found around termite mounds.

Mating

Along with other

, this lizard species is semelparous, with little overlap of adult and juveniles life stages. Life expectancy is 13 to 14 months, and mating occurs in the spring with hatchlings appearing in late summer from October to December. Females make an inclining burrow in soft soil 100 to 200 mm long and lay 3-9 eggs (6.5 mm x 9.5 mm). The females may have up to two

clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

in their lifetime.

Taxonomy and evolution

Based on morphological evidence from the ''capensis'' species, southern African genus ''Ichnotropis'' and North American genus ''

Psammodromus ''Psammodromus'' is a small genus of sand lizards of the family ''Lacertidae''. It has six described species, which are found in European and North African countries next to the Mediterranean. Species The following species are recognized as bei ...

'' diverged from a common ancestor in the lineage of '' Lacerta lepida'' and ''Lacerta monticola'' during the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

epoch (24 to 36 million years ago).

Predators

It is recorded as prey of the shikra and secretarybird, both birds of prey that are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Africa.Biodiversity Explorer online
''Sagittarius serpentarius'' They may have other predators as well, as they are small lizards, but there is no evidence suggesting that they are endangered or hunted by indigenous people who live near their habitat. Apparently hunting does not harm them sufficiently to be considered threatened.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5086621 Ichnotropis Lizards of Africa Reptiles of Botswana Reptiles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Reptiles of Mozambique Reptiles of Namibia Reptiles of South Africa Reptiles of Zambia Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist) Reptiles described in 1838