The Ukinga girdled lizard (''Cordylus ukingensis'') is a poorly known species of

girdled lizard 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, withou ...

from central Tanzania. They are rupicolous (rock-dwelling) and feed on small

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. The dorsal coloration is red-brown with scattered dark mottles. The lateral scales often have pale borders. The upper lip is white and there is a distinct dark dorsolateral band on the sides of the neck. The belly is pale gray. The maximum length is around 170 mm. The Ukinga girdled lizard can be distinguished from related species ('' Cordylus tropidosternum'' and '' Cordylus jonesii'') by their white lips, keeled scales on the throat, fusion of the loreal scale with the preocular (separate in other species), and the presence of a low supraocular ridge. The supraocular ridge extends along the lateral edges of the prefrontal, frontal, frontoparietal, parietal, and supraocular scales. Ukinga girdled lizards have recently been exported from Tanzania for the pet trade. They are commonly labeled, along with the tropical girdled lizard, as the

armadillo lizard The armadillo girdled lizard (''Ouroborus cataphractus''), www.reptile-database.org. also commonly known as the armadillo lizard, the armadillo spiny-tailed lizard, and the golden-armadillo lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylid ...

References

* Broadley, D. G., and Branch, W. R., 2002. A review of the small east African ''Cordylus'' (Sauria: Cordylidae), with the description of a new species: African Journal of Herpetology, 51(1): 9–34. * Spawls, S., Howell, K, Drewes, R, and Ashe, J, 2002. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa: Academic Press, San Diego, 543 p.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2997198 Cordylus Reptiles of Tanzania Reptiles described in 1932 Taxa named by Arthur Loveridge