| Cordylidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tropical girdled lizard, Cordylus tropidosternum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Cordyliformes |
| Family: | Cordylidae Fitzinger, 1826 |
| Diversity | |
| 10 genera (see text) | |
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.[1][2]
Cordylidae is closely related to the family Gerrhosauridae, occurring in Africa and Madagascar. These two scientific families of lizards, known as Cordyliformes or Cordyloidea, are sometimes combined into a larger concept of Cordylidae. Recent molecular analyses confirm the clade made up of Cordylidae and Gerrhosauridae (Cordyloidea) and place it in a larger clade including Xantusiidae (Cordylomorpha Vidal & Hedges, 2009).[3]
- ^ "Cordylidae." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007.
- ^ "Cordylidae." Bill Branch. 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
- ^ Nicolas Vidal; S. Blair Hedges The molecular evolutionary tree of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians