Giant girdled lizard

"Sungazer" redirects here. For the jazz fusion band, see Adam Neely.

Sungazer
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Smaug
Species:
S. giganteus
Binomial name
Smaug giganteus
(Smith, 1844)
Synonyms

Cordylus giganteus

Two giant girdled lizards at the Frankfurt Zoo
Three giant girdled lizards in Tierpark Hagenbeck
A pair of giant girdled lizards
Giant girdled lizard specimen, purchased in 1906 by National Museum of Ireland - Natural History
Giant girdled lizard at the San Diego Zoo
Giant girdled lizard at the San Diego Zoo

The sungazer (Smaug giganteus, syn. Cordylus giganteus), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, ouvolk,[2] or giant zonure,[3] is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa.[4] This threatened species is endemic to Highveld grasslands in the interior of South Africa.[4] In 2011, it was assigned to the new genus Smaug, along with seven other species previously belonging to the genus Cordylus, based on a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Cordylidae.[5]

  1. ^ Alexander, G.J.; Tolley, K.A.; Bates, M.F.; Mouton, P.L.F.N. (2018). "Smaug giganteus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T5336A115650269. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T5336A115650269.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ The ouvolk. An endangered species
  3. ^ Mouton, P.le.F.N. 2014. Smaug giganteus (Smith, 1844). Pp 209. In: Bates, M.F., Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M., Burger, M., Marais, J., Alexander, G.J., De Villiers, M.S. (eds.). Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
  4. ^ a b Bill Branch. 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa, p. 189. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. ISBN 1-86872-040-3
  5. ^ Stanley, Edward L.; Bauer, Aaron M.; Jackman, 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)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (1): 53–70. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.08.024. PMID 20816817.