Morphological variation in the girdled lizard Cordylus mclachlani Mouton 1986

Abstract

The girdled lizard Cordylus mclachlani, previously known only from the type locality in the south-western Cape, South Africa, was found at several new localities as far north as Nieuwoudtville. The external morphology of the 32 additional specimens thus obtained was investigated to establish the nature of geographical variation. Specimens from the type locality, which lies on the southern periphery of the known distribution range, differ from the rest in the number of suboculars, the shape of the interparietal scale and in the presence of a post-interparietal scale. Because of some overlap in these characters, separate taxonomie status for the specimens outside the type locality is not considered. The diagnostic character set for the species is updated and additional ecological information is supplied.