NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Striped Sandveld Lizard
Nucras tessellata (Smith, 1838)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Nucras tessellata, also known as the western sandveld lizard, striped sandveld lizard, tiger lizard, striped sand lizard or banded sand lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is native to western Southern Africa and is found in western South Africa (Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces), southwestern Botswana, and southern and central Namibia north to Khomas Highland. Its range includes several protected areas, including Tankwa Karoo National Park and ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.
Wikipedia contributors, Nucras tessellata; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:36:55.264644+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nucras tessellata (Smith, 1838)
- Name authority
- (Smith, 1838)
- Common name
- Striped Sandveld Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lacertidae
- Genus
- Nucras
- 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
- genusNucras
- speciesNucras tessellata (Smith, 1838)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nucras. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetail Scrub LizardNucras caesicaudata Broadley, 1972 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spotted Sandveld LizardNucras intertexta (Smith, 1838) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Delalande's Sandveld LizardNucras lalandii (Milne-Edwards, 1829) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Karoo Sandveld LizardNucras livida (Smith, 1838) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ornate Sandveld LizardNucras ornata (Gray, 1864) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lambert’s Bay Sandveld LizardNucras aurantiaca Bauer, Childers, Broeckhoven & Mouton, 2019 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Angolan Sandveld LizardNucras broadleyi Branch, Conradie, Vaz-Pinto & Tolley, 2019 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nucras margaritae Bauer, Childers & Burger, 2025 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boulenger’s scrub lizardNucras boulengeri Neumann, 1900 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Holub’s Sandveld LizardNucras holubi (Steindachner, 1882) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scaled Sandveld LizardNucras scalaris Laurent, 1964 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Albany Sandveld LizardNucras taeniolata (Smith, 1838) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Lacerta elegans Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838 | synonym |
| Lacerta tesselata Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838 | 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=Nucras&species=tessellata 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:482PQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.