''Smaug'' 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 lizards in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cordylidae Cordylidae is a family of small- to medium-sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as girdled lizards, spinytail lizards, or girdle-tail lizards. Cordylidae is closely related to the family Gerrhosauridae ...

. The genus ''Smaug'' is a group of

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 spiny southern African lizards, separated from 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 ...

'' in 2011 on the basis of a comprehensive molecular

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

of the

. 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 ...

is the

giant girdled lizard The sungazer (''Smaug giganteus'', syn. ''Cordylus giganteus''), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa.Bill Bra ...

, ''S. giganteus'' (formerly ''Cordylus giganteus'').

Etymology

The genus ''Smaug'' was named for the character

Smaug Smaug () is a dragon and the main antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', his treasure and the mountain he lives in being the goal of the quest. Powerful and fearsome, he invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 150 years prior ...

, in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'':

Smaug is the name of the dragon encountered by Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's book ''The Hobbit''. According to Tolkien the name is derived from the Old German verb ''smeugen'' – to squeeze through a hole. Like the type species, Smaug lived underground and was heavily armored. Appropriately Tolkien was born in the
Free State province The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer ...
, South Africa, the core area of distribution of the type species. The name is masculine.

''Zonurus'', the former genus name, is from Greek ''zōnē'' 'girdle' + ''oura'' 'tail'.

Description

''Smaug'' are large lizards (extremely large among the

), measuring up to in snout–vent length (SVL). The body is sub-cylindrical in cross-section and robust. Limbs are moderate in length and digits are unreduced.

Dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and caudal scales are enlarged and spinose.

Occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cereb ...

spines are greatly enlarged.

Nasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Sometimes this ...

s are not in contact with one another. The frontonasal scale is in broad contact with the rostral scale. The tongue is partly or fully pigmented.

Osteoderm Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amp ...

s are distributed across the entire body.

Reproduction

''Smaug'' 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 give birth to 1–6 young.

Species

There are 9 species: *''

Smaug barbertonensis ''Smaug barbertonensis'' (also known as the Barberton dragon lizard or Barberton girdled lizard) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is a small lizard found in eastern South Africa and Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), ...

'' – Barberton girdled lizard *''

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. Etymology The specific name, ''breyeri'', is in hon ...

'' – Waterberg girdled lizard *''

Smaug depressus Zoutpansberg girdled lizard (''Smaug depressus'') is a species of the genus ''Smaug''.The Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Smaug&species=depressus&search_param=( This species is only found on and around the Sou ...

'' – Zoutpansberg girdled lizard *''

Smaug giganteus The sungazer (''Smaug giganteus'', syn. ''Cordylus giganteus''), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa.Bill Bran ...

'' – giant girdled lizard (type species) *'' Smaug mossambicus'' – Mozambique girdled lizard *''

Smaug regius Smaug regius (also known as the regal girdled lizard) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is a small lizard found in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast ...

'' – regal girdled lizard *''

Smaug swazicus Smaug swazicus (also known as the Swazi dragon lizard) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is a small lizard found in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country i ...

'' – Swazi dragon lizard *''

Smaug vandami Van Dam's girdled lizard (''Smaug vandami'') is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. Geographic range The type locality of ''S. vandami'' is Gravelotte, Limpopo, South Africa. Habitat The prefe ...

'' – Van Dam's girdled lizard *'' Smaug warreni'' – Warren's girdled 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 ''Smaug''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3486900 Lizards of Africa Lizard genera Taxa named by Edward L. Stanley Taxa named by Aaron M. Bauer Taxa named by Todd R. Jackman Taxa named by William Roy Branch Taxa named by Pieter Le Fras Nortier Mouton Organisms named after Tolkien and his works