Cordylidae

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Cordylidae is a family of small- to medium-sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as girdled lizards, spinytail lizards, or girdle-tail lizards.<ref>"Cordylidae." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007.</ref><ref>"Cordylidae." Bill Branch. 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.</ref>

Cordylidae is closely related to the family Gerrhosauridae, occurring in Africa and Madagascar. These two scientific families of lizards, known as Cordyliformes or Cordyloidea, are sometimes combined into a larger concept of Cordylidae. Recent molecular analyses confirm the clade made up of Cordylidae and Gerrhosauridae (Cordyloidea) and place it in a larger clade including Xantusiidae (Cordylomorpha Vidal & Hedges, 2009).<ref>Nicolas Vidal; S. Blair Hedges The molecular evolutionary tree of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians</ref>

Description and behavior

Girdled lizards are diurnal and insectivorous. They are terrestrial, mostly inhabiting crevices in rocky terrain, although at least one species digs burrows and another lives under exfoliating bark on trees. They have flattened heads and bodies, and are distinguished by a heavy armour of osteoderms and large, rectangular, scales, arranged in regular rows around the body and tail. Many species have rings of spines on the tail, that aid in wedging the animal into sheltering crevices, and also in dissuading predators.<ref name=EoR>Template:Cite book</ref>

Most species have four limbs, but those in the genus Chamaesaura are almost entirely limbless, with only tiny spikes in place of the hind limbs. The family includes both egg-laying and ovoviviparous species.<ref name=EoR/>

Genera

**List of genera**
Genus	Image	Type species	Taxon author	Common name	Species
Chamaesaura	C. anguina	C. anguina Template:Small	Schneider, 1801	Grass lizards	5
Cordylus	C. niger	C. cordylus Template:Small	Laurenti, 1768	Girdled lizards	21
Hemicordylus	H. capensis	H. capensis Template:Small	Smith, 1838	Cliff lizards	2
Karusasaurus	K. polyzonus	K. polyzonus Template:Small	Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton, 2011	Karusa lizards	2
Namazonurus	N. peersi	N. pustulatus Template:Small	Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton, 2011	Namaqua girdled lizards	5
Ninurta	N. coeruleopunctatus	N. coeruleopunctatus Template:Small	Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton, 2011	Blue-spotted girdled lizard	1
Ouroborus	O. cataphractus	O. cataphractus Template:Small	Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton, 2011	Armadillo girdled lizard	1
Platysaurus	P. relictus	P. capensis Template:Small	Smith, 1844	Flat lizards	16
Pseudocordylus	P. subviridis	P. microlepidotus Template:Small	Smith, 1838	Crag lizards	6
Smaug	S. giganteus	S. giganteus Template:Small	Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton, 2011	Girdled lizards	9