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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Madagascar Girdled Lizard

Zonosaurus madagascariensis (Gray, 1831)

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.

Madagascar Girdled Lizard

Madagascar Girdled Lizard

Guérin Nicolas (messages) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The Madagascar girdled lizard or Madagascar plated lizard (Zonosaurus madagascariensis) is a species of lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae. It is found in Madagascar, some outlying islands (Nosy Be and the nearby islands; Grande Glorieuse) and the Seychelles (Cosmoledo). This generally common lizard is found in a range of habitat types, including open and degraded humid forest at mid and low altitudes. It also occurs in plantations. On Cosmoledo, it occurs in open shrubland. This oviparous lizard grows to 30 cm (12 in) total length.

Wikipedia contributors, Madagascar girdled lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:23:30.860481+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Zonosaurus madagascariensis (Gray, 1831)
Name authority
(Gray, 1831)
Common name
Madagascar Girdled Lizard
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Gerrhosauridae
Genus
Zonosaurus
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderAutarchoglossa
  11. familyGerrhosauridae
  12. genusZonosaurus
  13. speciesZonosaurus madagascariensis (Gray, 1831)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Zonosaurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Bronze Girdled LizardZonosaurus aeneus (Grandidier, 1872)GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Zonosaurus anelanelany Raselimanana, Raxworthy & Nussbaum, 2000GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Zonosaurus bemaraha Raselimanana, Raxworthy & Nussbaum, 2000GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Zonosaurus maramaintso Raselimanana, Nussbaum & Raxworthy, 2006GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Southeastern Girdled LizardZonosaurus maximus Boulenger, 1896GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Four-lined Girdled LizardZonosaurus quadrilineatus (Grandidier, 1867)GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Red-legged Girdled LizardZonosaurus rufipes (Boettger, 1881)GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Zonosaurus subunicolor (Boettger, 1881)GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Three-lined Girdled LizardZonosaurus trilineatus Angel, 1940GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Brygoo's Girdled LizardZonosaurus brygooi Lang & Böhme, 1990GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Boettger's Girdled LizardZonosaurus boettgeri Steindachner, 1891GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Zonosaurus haraldmeieri Brygoo & Böhme, 1985GerrhosauridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 34 records assigned to Gerrhosauridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Cicigna madagascariensis Gray, 1831 Gray, 1831synonym
Cicigna madagascariensis Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845synonym
Gerrhosaurus bifasciatus Duméril & Bibron, 1839 Duméril & Bibron, 1839synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Madagascar, Seychelles, Nossi Be = Nosy Bé, Nosy Komba, Nosy Sakatia, Nosy Tanikely

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.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Zonosaurus&species=madagascariensis 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:5D74Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.