The sungazer ( gc and des )

                       

    The sungazer

    (original website; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_girdled_lizard)

 

          The sungazer also known as the giant girdled lizard or giant dragon lizard or giant zonure, Is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from Sub-Saharan Africa. This threatened species is endemic to Highveld grasslands in the interior of South Africa. The sungazer is a heavily armoured species, with a typical snout–to-vent length of 15–18cm.

           The species is known as the sungazer because of its distinctive thermoregulatory behaviour of elevating the anterior parts of the body by extending its forearms, usually near the entrance of its burrow as if looking at the sun. The species is well known throughout its distribution, and goes by several different common names, in different languages. The most common local name is ‘Ouvolk’, given by Afrikaans landowners who liken the thermoregulatory basking position of the species to retired farmworkers, who spend much of their days sitting in the sunlight.

 video about ; the sungaser(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pVl6_rP6DE)

Sungazer

Smaug giganteus

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)[1]

Scientific classification

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Binomial name

Smaug giganteus (Smith, 1844)

Synonyms

Cordylus giganteus

	Animalia
	Chordata
	Reptilia
	Squamata
	Cordylidae
	Smaug
	S. giganteus