Karusasaurus jordani

Karusasaurus jordani, also known commonly as Jordan's girdled lizard and the Namibian girdled lizard, is a species of small, spiny lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.

Etymology

The specific name, jordani, is in honor of German-born British entomologist Heinrich Ernst Karl Jordan.

Geographic range

K. jordani is found in central Namibia.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of K. jordani is rocky hillsides in savanna, at altitudes of .

Description

Adults of K. jordani usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and maximum recorded SVL is . The body is robust, not flattened. Adults are uniformly olive-brown, but juveniles are buff with dark crossbars. Males have only 5–8 femoral pores.

Reproduction

The mode of reproduction of K. jordani has been described as viviparous and as ovoviviparous.

References

Further reading

• Parker HW (1936). "Dr. Karl Jordan's Expedition to South-West Africa and Angola: Herpetological Collections". Novitates Zoologica (Tring) 40: 115–146. (Zonurus jordani, new species, pp. 133–134).
• FitzSimons VF (1943). The Lizards of South Africa. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xv + 528 pp. (Cordylus jordani, new combination).
• Schleicher, Alfred (2020). Reptiles of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Kuiseb Publishers. 271 pp.
• , , , , (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58: 53–70. (Karusasaurus jordani, new combination).