NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Rough-scaled (Sand) Lizard
Meroles squamulosus (Peters, 1854)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
H1-3 South of Satara, Kruger NP, SOUTH AFRICA
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Meroles squamulosa is a species of African lizard originally placed in the genus Ichnotropis, however phylogenetic evidence moves this species to the genus Meroles. The species is commonly called the common rough-scaled lizard or savanna lizard. It is largely found in southern Africa. These lizards are terrestrial and found in the range of mesic savannah. The common rough-scaled lizard is medium in size and well distributed in parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Wikipedia contributors, Common rough-scaled lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:09:39.972342+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Meroles squamulosus (Peters, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1854)
- Common name
- Common Rough-scaled (Sand) Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lacertidae
- Genus
- Meroles
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyLacertidae
- genusMeroles
- speciesMeroles squamulosus (Peters, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Meroles. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Anchieta’s Dune or Shovel-Snouted LizardMeroles anchietae (Bocage, 1867) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Small-scaled Desert LizardMeroles micropholidotus Mertens, 1938 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spotted Desrt LizardMeroles suborbitalis (Peters, 1869) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Giant Desert LizardMeroles ctenodactylus (Smith, 1838) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wedge-snouted Desert LizardMeroles cuneirostris (Strauch, 1867) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Knox's Desert LizardMeroles knoxii (Milne-Edwards, 1829) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Reticulate Sand LizardMeroles reticulatus (Bocage, 1867) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ichnotropis squamulosa Peters, 1854 Peters, 1854 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Meroles&species=squamulosus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3ZVQS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.