''Pseudocordylus'' is 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 small to large
girdled lizards from South Africa, commonly known as crag lizards. Six
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of ''Pseudocordylus'' are known; they are distinguished from girdled lizards of the genus ''
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 she ...
'' by the presence of granular scales on the back instead of osteoderms.
Species
The following six species are recognized as being valid.
["''Pseudocordylus''". The ]Reptile Database
The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaurs). The database focuses on species (as opposed to higher ranks such as families) and has entrie ...
. www.reptile-database.org.
*''
Pseudocordylus langi'' – Lang's crag lizard
*''
Pseudocordylus melanotus'' – Common crag lizard
*''
Pseudocordylus microlepidotus'' – Cape crag lizard
*''
Pseudocordylus spinosus'' – Spiny crag lizard
*''
Pseudocordylus subviridis'' – Drakensberg crag lizard
*''
Pseudocordylus transvaalensis'' – Northern crag lizard
''
Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A
binomial authority
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Pseudocordylus''.
References
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA. 1885. ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ... Zonuridæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus ''Pseudocordylus'', p. 259).
*
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. SBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus ''Psdeudocordylus'', p. 205).
External links
*
Broadley DG. 2006
*
Darrel Frost, Frost DR et al. 2001
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2220649
Pseudocordylus,
Lizard genera
Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)