- Animals
- ›Chordates
- ›Vertebrates
- ›Reptiles
- ›Snakes and Lizards
- ›Lizards
- ›Skinks and allies
- ›Girdle-tail Lizards
- ›Cordylinae
Cordylus
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, without shelled eggs). Most species are rupicolous (rock-dwelling), while a few species are arboreal or live in burrows. They defend themselves with osteoderms (flat bony plates in the skin) and by quickly retreating into rock crevices or burrows. Many species live in groups, and males defend territories.
Cordylids are generally listed under CITES Appendix II. They are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but trade is controlled to prevent overexploitation. Some species of Cordylus have limited ranges and may be threatened with habitat destruction or over collecting for the pet trade.
22 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 22 known species
Black Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus niger
Cape Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus cordylus
Common Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus vittifer
Limpopo Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus jonesii
Tropical Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus tropidosternum
Oelofsen’s Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus oelofseni
Large-scaled Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus macropholis
McLachlan’s Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus mclachlani
Zimbabwean Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus rhodesianus
Nyika Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus nyikae
Dwarf Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus minor
Maasai Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus beraduccii
Machado’s Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus machadoi
Rooiberg Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus imkeae
Kaokoveld Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus namakuiyus
Ethiopian Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus rivae
Ukinga Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus ukingensis
Mecula Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus meculae
Angolan Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus angolensis
N'Dolondolo Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus phonolithos
Cordylus momboloensis
speciesCordylus momboloensis
Marungu Girdled Lizard
speciesCordylus marunguensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Cordylus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 33024.