Pungwe flat lizard
| Pungwe flat lizard | |
|---|---|
| |
| Individual at the Frankfurt Zoo
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Cordylidae |
| Genus: | Platysaurus |
| Species: | P. pungweensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Platysaurus pungweensis Broadley, 1959
| |
The Pungwe flat lizard (Platysaurus pungweensis) is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.
Description
Females and juveniles of the Pungwe flat lizard are black and striped on their backs. Males vary by subspecies. The species resembles the
common flat lizard
, Platysaurus intermedius.
Geography
Pungwe flat lizards live in eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique.[1][2] The type was obtained at the Pungwe River at 730 m (2,400 ft) above sea level, near the eastern border of Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe).[2]
Habitat and ecology
Pungwe flat lizards inhabit low rock outcrops and large hills in
beetles
.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are accepted:[1][2]
- P. p. pungweensis – Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique
- P. p. blakei Broadley, 1964 – outcrops and inselbergs in the lowlands of southern Manica Platform, central Mozambique. Type locality 24 kilometres (15 miles) southeast of Vila de Manica.[3]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Platysaurus pungweensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 23 March 2021.
- ^ Adolphs, Klaus (29 July 2015). "Platysaurus Smith, 1844". www.squamata.de. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2018.