Van Dam’s Girdled Lizard

About the Van Dam’s Girdled Lizard

Van Dam's girdled lizard (Smaug vandami) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. The type locality of S. vandami is Gravelotte, Limpopo, South Africa. The preferred natural habitats of S. vandami are grassland and savanna.

A large lizard, S. vandami may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 14.5 cm (5.7 in). It has a triangular shaped head, and spiny dorsal scales. The predominant colour is dark brown with fragmented yellow rings. S. vandami is largely solitary and hides in cracks in rocks.

S. vandami is ovoviviparous. From two to six young are born alive in summer. The species is named for the collector of the type specimens, Gerhardus Petrus Frederick van Dam (died 1927), who was a South African herpetologist.

Other common names for S. vandami include the Afrikaans name ouvolk, meaning "old folk". FitzSimons V (1930). "Descriptions of New South African Reptilia and Batrachia, with Distribution Records of Allied Species in the Transvaal Museum Collection". Annals of the Transvaal... Wikipedia →