NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Zimbabwean Girdled Lizard
Cordylus rhodesianus (Hewitt, 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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Rhodesian girdled lizard (Cordylus rhodesianus) is one of three species of very flattened girdled lizards from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique. The other two species are Cordylus nyikae and Cordylus meculae. They are found living under stones in rock outcrops where they feed on small arthropods. Adults are 60–90 mm long from snout to vent. The tail length is approximately half the total length.
Also known as the Zimbabwe girdled lizard, they live in rocky montane grasslands of eastern Zimbabwe. The head shields are smooth or slightly rugose. The nostril is pierced in the center of the nasal scale and the dorsal scales have a serrated posterior margin. The back is olive-brown with irregularly spaced dark and light blotches. The belly is yellow to gray. Both sexes have femoral pores.
Zimbabwe girdled lizards are exported from Mozambique for the pet trade. Zimbabwe girdled lizards remain skittish in captivity and require numerous hiding places constructed with stacked rocks.
Wikipedia contributors, Rhodesian girdled lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:26:34.850317+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cordylus rhodesianus (Hewitt, 1933)
- Name authority
- (Hewitt, 1933)
- Common name
- Zimbabwean Girdled Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Cordylidae
- Genus
- Cordylus
- 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
- genusCordylus
- speciesCordylus rhodesianus (Hewitt, 1933)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cordylus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Kaokoveld Girdled LizardCordylus namakuiyus Stanley, Ceríaco, Bandeira, Valerio, Bates & Branch, 2016 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mombolo girdled lizardCordylus momboloensis Bates, Lobón-Rovira, Stanley, Branch & Vaz-Pinto, 2023 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Angolan Girdled LizardCordylus angolensis (Bocage, 1895) | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maasai Girdled LizardCordylus beraduccii Broadley & Branch, 2002 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cape Girdled LizardCordylus cordylus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rooiberg Girdled LizardCordylus imkeae Mouton & Van Wyk, 1994 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Large-scaled Girdled LizardCordylus macropholis (Boulenger, 1910) | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Marungu Girdled LizardCordylus marunguensis Greenbaum, Stanley, Kusamba, Moninga, Goldberg & Bursey, 2012 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| McLachlan’s Girdled LizardCordylus mclachlani Mouton, 1986 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mecula Girdled LizardCordylus meculae Branch, Rödel & Marais, 2005 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cloete’s Girdled Lizard [cloetei]Cordylus minor Fitzsimons, 1943 | CordylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oelofsen’s Girdled LizardCordylus oelofseni Mouton & Van Wyk, 1990 | CordylidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Zonurus cordylus rhodesianus Hewitt, 1933 Hewitt, 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=Cordylus&species=rhodesianus 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:YD6Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.