giant girdled lizard

The sungazer is a heavily armoured species, with a typical snout–to-vent length of {{convert|15|-|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} (exceptionally up to {{convert|20.5|cm|in|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and is easily distinguishable from other cordylids by the elongated pair of occipital spines and the enlarged keeled caudal spines.Van Wyk, J.H. 1988. Sungazer or Giant Girdled Lizard (Cordylus giganteus). Pp. 78-80. In: W.R. Branch, (ed.) South African Red Data Book – Reptiles and Amphibians. South African National Scientific Programmes Report No. 151.

The species is known as the sungazer because of its distinctive thermoregulatory behaviour of elevating the anterior parts of the body by extending its fore limbs, usually near the entrance of its burrow as if looking at the sun. The species is well known throughout its distribution, and is called by several different common names, in different languages. The most common local name is ouvolk, given by Afrikaans landowners who liken the thermoregulatory basking position of the species to retired farmworkers, who spend much of their days sitting in the sunlight. The sungazer is also known ubiquitously as {{Langx|st|Pathakalle|label=none}} by Sotho-speaking people and {{Langx|zu|mbedla|label=none}} by Zulu-speaking people.Parusnath, 2014. A conservation assessment of the Sungazer (Smaug giganteus). Unpublished Masters thesis. University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280073524_A_conservation_assessment_of_the_Sungazer_Smaug_giganteus

Unlike most other rupicolous (living among rocks) members of the Cordylidae, sungazers live in self-excavated burrows (typically {{convert|0.4|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} deep, and {{convert|1.8|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or|0}} long) in the silty soil of the Themeda grassland in South Africa. They are insectivores, but occasionally eat small vertebrates. These colonial, ovoviviparous lizards reproduce every 2–3 years, and only produce one or two offspring per breeding cycle. They are long-lived, and captives have been recorded surpassing 20 years of age.

SunGazers have a slow and unique reproductive style, this is called ovoviviparity. Males using their paired reproductive organs, called hemipenes, to fertilize the female cloaca. After fertilization the female keeps the eggs inside her body until they are finally ready to hatch. This slow and long cycle means that some females skip breeding seasons depending on their physical condition and environmental factors, making reproduction an occasional event that usually happens biennially this means every 2 years. Usually, only one or two offspring are produced, this is what lead to the species slow and low population growth.{{cite journal|author=J.H. Van Wyk|title=Biennial reproduction in the female viviparous lizard Cordylus giganteus|journal=Amphibia-Reptilia|year=1991|volume=12|issue=3|pages=329–342|publisher=Brill}}

After birth the female provides significant maternal care, allowing her offspring to stay in her burrow for a while since they are colonial. This shelter offers protection from predators and harsh conditions in the environment, which is important for the survival of the young sungazers. This maternal behavior helps the young get used to their environment and increases their chances of survival.{{cite web|author=South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)|title=Giant Girdled Lizard: Reproduction and Survival|year=2018|publisher=SANBI Publishing|location=Cape Town|url=https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/giant-girdled-lizard/}}

The decline in sungazer numbers is a result of habitat destruction, and illegal collecting for the pet and traditional medicine trades.Gibbons, B. (2014). [https://www.ewt.org.za/newsletter%20articals/SungazerBG_final.pdf Sungazer Lizards are desperately in need of conservation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094302/https://www.ewt.org.za/newsletter%20articals/SungazerBG_final.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}. Endangered Wildlife Trust, Threatened Grassland Species Programme. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Entire colonies can disappear when a patch of native grassland is converted to farmland or otherwise "developed".

Sungazers are very difficult to breed in captivity, and successes have only been reported by a few places worldwide.Adams, M. (April 2012). [http://www.nzg.ac.za/newsletter/issues/20/04.php Rare Sungazers pose tough challenge for conservators.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810020257/http://www.nzg.ac.za/newsletter/issues/20/04.php |date=2015-08-10 }} National Zoological Gardens of South Africa. Retrieved 12 November 2014. At least some reports are likely not true captive breeding, but rather pregnant females being caught in the wild and subsequently giving birth in captivity. Wild-caught sungazers are then imported from South Africa to the US, Europe, and Japan, where they command high prices. Most of these animals are smuggled out of the country and are not accompanied by the CITES permits required in legal exports/imports of the species. In its native South Africa, possessing a sungazer (dead or alive) without a permit is illegal. Cordylus tropidosternum and Cordylus jonesii are occasionally marketed as “dwarf sungazers”.

• The video game Sonic Superstars has a character called Trip that is based on a sungazer.

{{Commons category|Smaug giganteus}}

{{Reflist}}

• Fitzsimons, V. F., 1943. The Lizards of South Africa: Transvaal Museum Memoir, Pretoria.

{{Cordylidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1423469}}

Category:Smaug (genus)

Category:Endemic reptiles of South Africa

Category:Reptiles described in 1844

Category:Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot