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Warren's girdled lizard (''Smaug warreni'') is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
of relatively large, flattened
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
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 species is native to
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...
.


Etymology

The specific name, ''warreni'', is in honour of British zoologist Ernest Warren (1871–1945), who collected the
holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...
.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Cordylus warreni'', p. 280).


Geographic range

''S. warreni'' is known from
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...
, and
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 stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
www.reptile-database.org. (the
Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
in northeastern South Africa and eastern
Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its ...
).


Habitat

The preferred natural
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of ''S. warreni'' are
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
and rock outcrops on wooded mountain slopes, at altitudes of .


Diet

A shy species, ''S. warreni'' eats large
arthropod 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 ...
s and small
vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxon, taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with vertebral column, backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the ...
s.


Description

''S. warreni'' has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The back is dark brown with small yellow spots forming bands. The belly is light brown, and the throat and lips are mottled. Males have 10-12 femoral pores. The tail is spiny and slightly longer than the SVL.


Reproduction

''S. warreni'' is
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 ...
.


Taxonomy

The Barberton girdled lizard ('' Smaug barbertonensis''), Waterberg girdled lizard ('' Smaug breyeri)'', Zoutpansberg girdled lizard ('' Smaug depressus''), Mozambique girdled lizard (''Smaug mossambicus''), and the regal girdled lizard ('' Smaug regius'') were formerly considered subspecies of Warren's girdled lizard.


Pet trade

Warren's girdled lizard was formerly available in the pet trade, possibly exported from
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...
. Most specimens were labeled ''Cordylus warreni depressus'' and should be considered '' Smaug depressus''.


References


Further reading

* Boulenger GA (1908). "On a collection of fresh-water fishes, batrachians, and reptiles from Natal and Zululand, with description of new species". ''Annals of the Natal Museum'' 1 (3): 219–235. (''Zonurus warreni'', new species). * Branch B (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing: 399 pp. . (''Cordylus warreni'', pp. 195–196 + Plate 70). * FitzSimons VF (1943). ''The Lizards of South Africa''. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xvi + 528 pp. (''Cordylus warreni'', new combination). *Stanley, Edward L.; Bauer, Aaron M.; Jackmann, Todd R.; Branch, William R.; Mouton, P. Le Fras N. (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 58 (1): 53–70. (''Smaug warreni'', new combination). {{Taxonbar, from=Q3007630 Smaug (genus) Reptiles of Eswatini Lizards of Africa Reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1908 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger