The sungazer (''Smaug giganteus'',

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Cordylus giganteus''), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the

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 ...

, a family of lizards from

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

.Bill Branch. 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa, p. 189. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. This

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...

grasslands in the interior of South Africa. In 2011, it was assigned to the new genus ''

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 ...

'', along with seven other species previously belonging to 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 ...

'', based on 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 Cordylidae.

Appearance

The sungazer is a heavily armoured species, with a typical snout–to-

vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

length of (exceptionally up to ), and is easily distinguishable from other cordylids by the elongated pair of

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 and the enlarged keeled caudal spines.

Names

The species is known as the sungazer because of its distinctive

thermoregulatory Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

behaviour of elevating the anterior parts of the body by extending its fore limbs, usually near the entrance of its burrow as if looking at the sun. The species is well known throughout its distribution, and is called by several different common names, in different languages. The most common local name is ''ouvolk'', given by

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

landowners who liken the thermoregulatory basking position of the species to retired farmworkers, who spend much of their days sitting in the sunlight. The sungazer is also known ubiquitously as ''pPathakalle'' by

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

-speaking people and ''mbedla'' by Zulu-speaking people.Parusnath, 2014. A conservation assessment of the Sungazer (''Smaug giganteus''). Unpublished Masters thesis. University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280073524_A_conservation_assessment_of_the_Sungazer_Smaug_giganteus

Behavior

Unlike most other rupicolous (living among rocks) members of the Cordylidae, sungazers live in self-excavated burrows (typically deep, and long) in the silty soil of the ''

Themeda ''Themeda'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Papuasia. There are about 18Barkworth, M. E''Themeda''.Grass Manual. Flora of North America. to 26Potdar, G. G., et al. (2003)A new species of ''Themeda'' ...

'' grassland in South Africa. They are insectivores, but occasionally eat small vertebrates. These

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

lizards reproduce every 2–3 years, and only produce one or two offspring per breeding cycle. They are long-lived, and captives have been recorded surpassing 20 years of age.

Conservation

The decline in sungazer numbers is a result of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and illegal collecting for the pet and

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

trades.Gibbons, B. (2014).
Sungazer Lizards are desperately in need of conservation
''.

Endangered Wildlife Trust The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit 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 str ...

, Threatened Grassland Species Programme. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Entire colonies can disappear when a patch of native grassland is converted to farmland or otherwise "developed". Sungazers are very difficult to breed in captivity, and successes have only been reported by a few places worldwide.Adams, M. (April 2012).
Rare Sungazers pose tough challenge for conservators.
''

National Zoological Gardens of South Africa The National Zoological Garden of South Africa (also informally known as The Pretoria Zoo) is an zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. Pretoria Zoo is one of th ...

. Retrieved 12 November 2014. At least some reports are likely not true captive breeding, but rather pregnant females being caught in the wild and subsequently giving birth in captivity. Wild-caught sungazers are then imported from South Africa to the US, Europe, and Japan, where they command high prices. Most of these animals are smuggled out of the country and are not accompanied by the

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

permits required in legal exports/imports of the species. In its native South Africa, possessing a sungazer (dead or alive) without a permit is illegal. ''

Cordylus tropidosternum The East African armadillo lizard, dwarf sungazer, or tropical girdled lizard (''Cordylus tropidosternum'') is a species of arboreal or rupicolous (rock-dwelling) lizard endemic to East Africa. Habitat The preferred habitat of the East African a ...

'' and ''

Cordylus jonesii The Limpopo girdled lizard (''Cordylus jonesii''), also known commonly as Jones's armadillo lizard and Jones's girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa. Etymology The specific na ...

'' are occasionally marketed as “dwarf sungazers”.

Gallery

File:Cordylus giganteus 2.JPG, Giant girdled lizard at the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

File:Cordylus giganteus 1.JPG, Giant girdled lizard at the San Diego Zoo File:Giantgirdledlizard.jpg, Two giant girdled lizards at the

Frankfurt Zoo The Frankfurt Zoological Garden is the zoo of Frankfurt, Germany. It features over 4,500 animals of more than 510 species on more than 11 hectares. The zoo was founded in 1858 and is the second oldest zoo in Germany, after Berlin Zoological Garde ...

File:Giant Girdled Lizard Tierpark Hagenbeck Hamburg.jpg, Three giant girdled lizards in

Tierpark Hagenbeck The Tierpark Hagenbeck is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Ca ...

File:Riesengürtelschweif (Cordylus giganteus) (3).JPG, A pair of giant girdled lizards

References

* Fitzsimons, V. F., 1943. The Lizards of South Africa: Transvaal Museum Memoir, Pretoria. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1423469 Smaug (genus) Endemic reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1844 Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist) Taxonomy articles created by Polbot