NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Soutpansberg Rock Lizard
Vhembelacerta rupicola (Fitzsimons, 1933)
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.
Soutpansberg Rock Lizard
Ryanvanhuyssteen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Soutpansberg rock lizard (Vhembelacerta rupicola) is a small (40–50 mm) flattened species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It has been described as a diurnal, rock-dwelling species inhabiting scree and rocky outcrops at altitudes from 900 to 1600 m. It is endemic to the Limpopo Province in the north of South Africa.
It is an active forager on the southern slopes of the Soutpansberg hills.
Wikipedia contributors, Soutpansberg rock lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:56:02.635166+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vhembelacerta rupicola (Fitzsimons, 1933)
- Name authority
- (Fitzsimons, 1933)
- Common name
- Soutpansberg Rock Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lacertidae
- Genus
- Vhembelacerta
- 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
- genusVhembelacerta
- speciesVhembelacerta rupicola (Fitzsimons, 1933)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lacerta rupicola Fitzsimons, 1933 Fitzsimons, 1933 | 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=Vhembelacerta&species=rupicola 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:5BBM8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.