The Waterberg flat lizard (''Platysaurus minor'') is a species of
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
in the family
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 Gerrhosaurida ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to South Africa.
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Geography
The Waterberg flat lizard ranges from Waterberg, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, to the foothills of the Blouberg. The Waterberg flat lizard lives in rocky sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
outcrops in a savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
habitat.
Habits
The Waterberg flat lizard eats mainly insects, but will sometimes eat plants. It lives in small family groups and breeds in summer, when two eggs are produced.
Description
The Waterberg flat lizard is 60–70 mm long. The scales on the sides of its body are rounded, raised and larger than those on its back. Three longitudinal stripes are always entire on females, but sometimes divided in males.
References
External links
More information on the Waterberg flat lizard
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3006682
Platysaurus
Lizards of Africa
Endemic reptiles of South Africa
Taxa named by Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons
Reptiles described in 1930