NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Pseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829)

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.

Cape crag lizard (P. microlepidotus) at Table Mountain (Nature Reserve), Cape Town, South Africa
PHParsons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source
Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

Pseudocordylus microlepidotus, or the Cape crag lizard, is a species of lizard native to shrublands and grasslands of South Africa. Three subspecies have been named: Pseudocordylus microlepidotus microlepidotus, Pseudocordylus microlepidotus fasciatus, and Pseudocordylus microlepidotus namaquensis. The species' gestation type is ovoviviparous. The species is protected under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Wikipedia contributors, Pseudocordylus microlepidotus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:48:29.006491+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name: Pseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829)
Name authority: (Cuvier, 1829)
Rank: species
Accepted status: accepted
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Cordylidae
Genus: Pseudocordylus
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
familyCordylidae
genusPseudocordylus
speciesPseudocordylus microlepidotus (Cuvier, 1829)

Close classified relatives

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

Species	Classification	Source status
Lang’s Crag LizardPseudocordylus langi Loveridge, 1944	CordylidaeChordata	Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 51 records assigned to Cordylidae.

Names & synonyms

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

Recorded name	Source status
Cordylus (Pseudocordylus) algoensis Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838	synonym
Cordylus (Pseudocordylus) montanus Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838	synonym
Cordylus microlepidotus Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829	synonym
Cordylus (Pseudocordylus) fasciatus Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838	synonym
Zonurus wittii Schlegel, 1834 Schlegel, 1834	synonym

Documented distribution

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

Republic of South Africa (throughout Cape fold mountains, inland mountain ranges of old Cape excarpment, and S Transkei)

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=Pseudocordylus&species=microlepidotus 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:78F32. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.