Order Squamata
Infraorder Scincomorpha
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Appearance: Cordylids are usually robust-bodied lizards with strongly keeled or very spiny tails. Osteoderms are well developed dorsally from head to tail. Their chests and bellies bear a lighter osteoderm shield and often abutting, smooth scales. Scales are arranged in circles around their body. Chamaesaura has extremely reduced limbs and a snakelike body. Photo: Cordylus giganteus, © K. Adolphs. |
Habitat: Terrestrial; predominantly arid-land species of scrub forest to grassland; they often occur in boulder fields and rocky outcrops. Cordylids hide in rock crevices or burrows which some species dig themselves (e.g. Cordylus giganteus).
Size: In general rather small ranging from 5-7 cm snout-vent length (Cordylus, Pseudocordylus and Platysaurus species) to about 20 cm (Cordylus giganteus).
Food: mostly insectivorous; opportunistic omnivores, and both large and some small species regularly eat plant matter.
Behaviour: Once chased into a crevice they use body inflation to wedge themselves between the rocks so that is almost impossible to pull them out from their cave.
Reproduction: Cordylids are live-bearers, except the oviparous Platysaurus; gerrhosaurines lay eggs.
Taxonomic note: Based on molecular data, Frost et al. (2001) found that Chamaesaura, Pseudocordylus, and Cordylus are paraphyletic. As a consequence, they synonymized these genera with Cordylus to render a monophyletic group. Note that more recent studies by Odierna et al. (2002) suggested to combine the Cordylidae with the Gerrhosauridae.However, these authors only included 9 species out of 4 genera in their analysis.
Updated species list and biological data compiled by Klaus Adolphs, St. Augustin (Germany)
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Phylogeny of the Cordylidae based on FROST et al. (2001).
References:
Adolphs,K. (1996)
Bibliographie der
Gürtelechsen und Schildechsen (Reptilia: Sauria: Cordylidae
& Gerrhosauridae)
Squamata Verlag, St. Augustin, 255 pp.
ISBN 3-9805086-0-9
Broadley, D.G. & W.R. Branch (2002)
A review of the small east African Cordylus (Sauria: Cordylidae),
with t he description of a new species.
Afr. J. Herpetol. 51 (1): 9-34.
Frost, D., D. Janies, P. le F.N. Mouton & T. Titus (2001)
A
molecular perspective on the phylogeny of the Girdled Lizards
(Cordylidae, Squamata).
Amer. Mus. Novit. 3310: 1-10.
Lang,M. (1991)
Generic relationships within Cordyliformes (Reptilia:Squamata)
Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique
61: 121-188
Loveridge, A. (1944)
Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Cordylidae.
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoology, Cambridge/USA, 95 (1): 1-118.
Mouton, P. le F. N. (1997)
Family Cordylidae.
In: J. H. van Wyk (ed.): Proceedings of the Fitzsimons
Commemorative Symposium, South African Lizards: 50 years of Progress.
- Herp. Assoc. Africa (Matieland, South Afr.), S. 19-23.
Mouton, P. le F. N., Wyk, J. H. van (1997)
Adaptive radiation in cordyliform lizards: An overview.
Afr. J. Herpetology (Stellenbosch), 46 (2): 78-88.
Odierna, G. et al. (2002)
A Phylogenetic Analysis of Cordyliformes (Reptilia: Squamata):
Comparison of Molecular and Karyological Data.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23 (1): 37&endash;42
Scott, Ian A.W.; J. Scott Keogh and Martin J. Whiting
(2004)
Shifting
sands and shifty lizards: molecular phylogeny and biogeography of
African •at lizards (Platysaurus).
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31: 618&endash;629
Welch, K. R. G. (1994)
Lizards of the World, A Checklist, 5. Agamidae, Chamaeleonidae,
Cordylidae and Gerrhosauridae.
Somerset (KCM Books), 97 S.
Wermuth,H. (1966)
Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien: Cordylidae
Das Tierreich Lieferung 87, I-X, 1-30
Walter de Gruyter, (Berlin)
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