A review of the small east African Cordylus (Sauria: Cordylidae), with the description of a new species

Abstract

The small and previously neglected East African girdled lizards (excluding the Cordylus warreni complex) are reviewed and seven species are recognised. The terrestrial species C. ukingensis (Loveridge) is restricted to montane grasslands in southwestern Tanzania and may be of conservation concern. The arboreal species C. tropidosternum (Cope) extends along the East African coast from Kenya south to central Mozambique and west to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The smaller arboreal species C. jonesii (Boulenger) inhabits southern Mozambique, Swaziland, the northeastern provinces of South Africa, southern Zimbabwe and southeastern Botswana. Rupicolous species include two taxa from the eastern escarpment, C. rhodesianus and C. nyikae, C. rivae (Boulenger), which is redescribed from new material collected in southern Ethiopia, and C. beraduccii sp. nov., described from the dry Maasai Plain of Tanzania and southern Kenya.

Key words:

• Cordylidae
• Cordylus
• morphology
• taxonomy
• East Africa