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| C. warreni warreni (Red) |  |
C. warreni depressus(Blue) |
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C. warreni barbetonensis(Green) |
Warren's girdled lizard
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| C. warreni warreni (Red) | |
C. warreni depressus(Blue) |
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C. warreni barbetonensis(Green) |
Endemic, SVL 105-130 mm, max SVL 142 mm ( C.w.barbetonensis).
This large girdled lizard has a flattened body. The nasals are separated by the rostral and the frontonasal. There are 5-8 occipitals (see Subspecies). The dorsal scales are spiny, in 24-37 transverse rows (see Subspecies). There is a pair of enlarged preanal plates, and only males have 7-13 femoral pores on each thigh. The tail has whorls of, large spiny scales. The back is dark brown to black, with varying degrees of yellow spotting and/or barring(see Subspecies). Biology and breeding : This species is found on rocky mountain slopes, favouring deep cracks in large boulders that are sheltered by trees. It is very shy and difficult to approach. The diet includes large invertebrates (beetles, grasshoppers, etc.), small land snails, small lizards and even frogs. Two to six young (90-130mm TL) are born in late summer. Habitat : Montane, well-wooded rocky outcrops. Range : Eastern escarpment from Ubombo Mountains in Zululand, through Mpumalanga Drakensberg, to the Soutpansberg in N. Province. Subspecies : The taxonomy of this species has been revised recently, with some races being elevated to full species status. Only three disjunct races are now recognized and all accur in the region. C.w.depressus (Blue) has a dark brown back with irregular, scattered, large yellow spots or bars. It occurs widely in the N. Province. C.w.barbetonensis (Green) also has a very dark brown back with bright yellow bars or large spots on the back. It is found from Barberton in Mpumalanga to S. Swaziland. C.w.warreni (Red) has a dark brown back with small yellow, black-edged spots forming vague bands; it occurs along the Lebombo Range from extreme SE Mpumalanga, through E. Swaziland to Maputaland.