Taxonomic status of geographical isolates in theCordylus minorcomplex (Reptilia: Cordylidae): A description of three new species

Abstract

MOUTON, P. LE F.N., and J.H. VAN WYK. 1994. Taxonomic status of geographical isolates in the Cordylus minor complex (Reptilia: Cordylidae): A description of three new species. J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr. 43: 6–18. Three new species of girdled lizard in the genus Cordylus are described from the Karoo and Namaqualand in South Africa. All three species closely resemble the dwarf girdled lizard, C. minor, in morphology. The main differences among the four forms lie in the size of the head, the number of temporal scales, upper labials, suboculars, and transverse series of dorsal scales, and in the form of the nasals. One of the three new species is, like C. minor, a lowland species, while the other two new forms are highland forms, occurring at high altitudes in the Kamiesberg Mountains (Namaqualand) and the Nuweveld Mountains (Karoo), respectively. C. minor seemingly occupies the basal position in the clade of minor-like forms.