Cordylus

Cordylus cordylus

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Cordyliformes

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Superclassis: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neoreptilia Cladus: Parapleurota Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Superordo: Lepidosauria Ordo: Squamata Infraordo: Scincomorpha Cladus: Cordyliformes

Familia: Cordylidae
Subfamilia: Cordylinae
Genus: Cordylus
Species (23): C. angolensis – C. beraduccii – C. cordylus – C. cultratus – C. imkeae – C. jonesii – C. machadoi – C. macropholis – C. marunguensis – C. mclachlani – C. meculae – C. minor – C. momboloensis – C. namakuiyus – C. niger – C. nyikae – C. oelofseni – C. phonolithos – C. rhodesianus – C. rivae – C. tropidosternum – C. ukingensis – C. vittifer

Name

Cordylus Laurenti, 1768: 51

• Type species: Cordylus verus Laurenti, 1768, by Linnaean tautonymy.

References

Primary references

• Laurenti, J.N. 1768. Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum, quod authoritate et consensu (In Latin). Joan Thomae: Vienna. 217 pp. BHL Reference page. 

Additional references

• Stanley, E.L., Bauer, A.M., Jackman, T.R., Branch, W.R. & Mouton, P. Le F.N. 2011. Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58(1): 53–70. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.08.024 Reference page. 
• Greenbaum, E., Stanley, E.L., Kusamba, C., Moninga, W.M., Goldberg, S.R. & Bursey, C.R. 2012. A new species of Cordylus (Squamata: Cordylidae) from the Marungu Plateau of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. African Journal of Herpetology 61(1): 14–39. DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2012.666505 Reference page. 
• Stanley, E.L., Ceríaco, L.M.P., Bandeira, S., Valério, H., Bates, M.F. & Branch, W.R. 2016. A review of Cordylus machadoi (Squamata: Cordylidae) in southwestern Angola, with the description of a new species from the Pro-Namib desert. Zootaxa 4061(3): 201–226. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4061.3.1. Full article (PDF).  Reference page. 
• Marques, M.P., Ceríaco, L.M.P., Stanley, E.L., Bandeira, S.A., Agarwal, I. & Bauer, A.M. 2019. A new species of Girdled Lizard (Squamata: Cordylidae) from the Serra da Neve Inselberg, Namibe Province, southwestern Angola. Zootaxa 4668(4): 503–524. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4668.4.4 Reference page. 
• Bates, M.F., Lóbon-Rovira, J., Stanley, E.L., Branch, W.R.† & Pinto, P.V. 2023. A new species of green-eyed Cordylus Laurenti, 1768 from the west-central highlands of Angola, and the rediscovery of Cordylus angolensis (Bocage, 1895)(Squamata: Cordylidae). Vertebrate Zoology 73: 599–646. DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e95639 Reference page. 
• Lobón-Rovira, J., Vaz Pinto, P., Keates, C. & Stanley, E.L. 2025. Ancient polymorphism, secondary contact, taxonomic inflation or all of them together? Mito-nuclear discordance in the Angolan girdled lizard (Cordylidae: Cordylus), with the description of a new species from the central highlands. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 205(1): zlaf112. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf112 Reference page. 

Links

• Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., F. Reyes, J. Kudera & Hošek, J. (eds.) 2026. Cordylus . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 15 September 2025.

Vernacular names

• Afrikaans: Gordelakkedisse
• English: Girdled Lizards

For more multimedia, look at Cordylus on Wikimedia Commons.