Cordylus niger
Black Girdled Lizards occur only on Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula and around Saldanha Bay, where they inhabit rocky outcrops in the fynbos and shelter in small cracks and crevices. When threatened they will use their prickly tail to cover the rest of their body and inflate themselves so that it should be very difficult to extract them from their hiding place. Black Girdled Lizards grow to between 7 and 9cm in length and are usually seen alone, except when mating. They are diurnal and do not hibernate, although they are much less active in cold weather. Black Girdled Lizards feed primarily on insects. This is an ovoviviparous species, meaning that the female keeps the fertilized eggs inside her body and then gives birth to live young when the eggs hatch inside her. One to three young are born during autumn and must be immediately self-sufficient, as there is no parental care.
The IUCN classifies the Black Girdled Lizard as “Near Threatened” due to their extremely limited distribution and threats from development and the pet trade, despite an apparently numerous population.
DeWetsWild 
I did not about these beauties. I was unaware that any lizard gave live birth! Thank you for teaching this to me 🙂
LikeLike
We’re glad we could introduce you the the Black Girdled Lizard, Dawn Renee!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The pet trade is a disturbing industry… one that should be reconsidered in a serious manner. Not a sustainable practice.
LikeLike
We can’t even properly look after the animals that have been domesticated for ages. What makes us think we could provide proper care to exotic animals like these?
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is an excellent point. I agree with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wat ‘n skande dat daar steeds handel gedryf word met hierdie skaars diere. Dankie vir ‘n leersame artikel, Dries.
LikeLike
Mens kan net jou kop in verwondering skud.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a specialized little lizard to exist only in such a small area! Humans (like me) tend to think of species like lizards as relatively homogeneous, so posts like this always come as a bit of a surprise.
The biggest surprise however was that it gives birth to live offspring. I thought all cold-blooded animals laid eggs that hatched outside the mother. I learn something new every day!
LikeLike
That’s exactly what makes it so interesting and addictive to be out in nature – we never know what we’re going to find or learn next! What at first glance looked like just another dark lizard turned out to be something very special. Now I only wish that I had spent even more time chasing it around the garden of Eland Cottage at the Cape of Good Hope (with my camera of course!).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just had a very funny image of you chasing a tiny lizard around the ground with your camera 😆
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
That’s great that you managed to get a few clear shots of one, lizards can be tough to photograph.
LikeLike
I wish we knew at the time just what a special animal this was, then I would have taken more photos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cute little lizard. Reminds of a baby crocodile.😊
LikeLike
Or a little dragon! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a shame that these wonderful little creatures are near threatened. I find them pretty fascinating.
LikeLike
It’s terrible how we seem to threaten almost everything that shares our world.
LikeLike
It is terrible.
LikeLike
I always enjoy coming to visit your site. How else would I ever know about some of these unusual creatures?
LikeLike
There’s always something new to discover, isn’t there Beth? We also only learned about the Black Girdled Lizard when we visited Table Mountain National Park recently.
LikeLiked by 1 person