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.

Habitat

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

Description

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

Reproduction

Most species are believed to be oviparous.

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)

The extinct Konkasaurus from the Late Cretaceous (~) of Madagascar was tentatively identified as a member of the family Cordylidae (the sister group to gerrhosaurids, together forming the Cordyliformes) in its 2003 description. Upon more detailed investigation using micro-CT scans of the available fossils, it was reidentified as a member of the Gerrhosauridae within the subfamily Zonosaurinae.

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. . (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