Girdled Lizards and Their Relatives

The aim of this book is to focus on the natural history of eight out of the 10 genera of the lizard family Cordylidae. The species to be covered in detail are the Girdled Lizards and their closest relatives, namely the Cliff Lizards, the Karusa Lizards, the Nama Lizards, the Blue-spotted Lizards, the Armadillo Lizards, the Crag Lizards and the Dragon Lizards. This is a comprehensive summary of the species previously assigned to the genera Cordylus and Pseudocordylus. Members of this group are mostly restricted to relatively small areas, but some have broad distributions that cross diverse habitats. Some species are known only from their types or from a handful of individuals, whereas others, including the Armadillo Lizard, Ouroborus cataphractus, and the Giant Dragon Lizard, Smaug giganteus, are among the most iconic lizards in Africa and are familiar to herpetologists everywhere. Despite intensive study by many researchers, chiefly South African, Cordylidae remain a rich subject for study and they will continue to contribute to our understanding of the evolution of body armor, viviparity, social behavior and a host of other topics. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jens Reissig has present the most up-to-date information with a large number of excellent photos to provide the first comprehensive summary of the Cordylidae that is accessible to a broad audience of herpetologists and naturalists, both amateur and professional. The combination of keys, images, maps and text should allow anyone to identify Cordylidae species and the book as a whole places these lizards into their broader historical, evolutionary, and bio-geographic contexts. Jens's enthusiasm for and knowledge of the African herpetofauna have developed from his personal experiences in the southern African Veld and a lifetime of working with snakes and other reptiles. 249 pages, over 300 color photographs, location maps, hardcover.