Gerrhosauridae

Gerrhosauridae
Broadleysaurus major
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Clade:	Cordyliformes
Family:	Gerrhosauridae Fitzinger, 1843

The Gerrhosauridae are a family of lizards native to Africa and Madagascar. They are close relatives of skinks and were once classified in the same family as them.^[1]

Habitat

Also known as plated lizards, species in the family Gerrhosauridae live in a range of habitats, from rocky crevices to sand dunes.^[1]

Description

Their form is variable, some species having four fully developed limbs, and others having vestigial hind limbs only.^[1]

Reproduction

Most species are believed to be oviparous.^[1]

Classification

Family Gerrhosauridae

• Subfamily Gerrhosaurinae
  • Genus Broadleysaurus - rough-scaled plated lizard (1 species)
  • Genus Cordylosaurus - blue-black plated lizard (1 species)
  • Genus Gerrhosaurus - (7 species)
  • Genus Matobosaurus - (2 species)
  • Genus Tetradactylus - (8 species)
• Subfamily Zonosaurinae
  • Genus Tracheloptychus - keeled plated lizards (2 species)
  • Genus Zonosaurus - zonosaurs (17 species)

References

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Family "Gerrhosauridæ", pp. 119–120).
• Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Family Gerrhosauridae, pp. 176–177).
• Fitzinger L (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. ("Gerrhosauri", new family, p. 21). (in Latin).

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20100616084347/http://www.jcvi.org/reptiles/families/gerrhosauridae.php