Broadley´s flat lizard
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(Endemic) SVL 70-75 mm; max SVL 86 mm male, 76 mm female.
Very similar in scalation to the Cape flat lizard, P.capensis, but differs
in having finer scalation on the top of the forelimbs, and 92-177 transverse
granules across the back. The ventrals are in 19-23 longitudinal rows. Males
have 15-18 femoral pores. Females and juvenils have a dark brown back, with
three broad, cream stripes that may be broken up into spots, or may have spots
between them. The belly is white, sometimes with a blackish patch in the middle,
and is suffused with pale orange to the rear; the tail is straw-coloured. In
adult males, the top of the head is bluish, and the back greenish, with a darker
area in the middle and with vestiges of the juvenils stripes and spots. The
forelimbs are yellow to orange, the throat is dark blue, and the belly is black
in front merging into orange towards the tail. The tail is tan above, and orange
below and on the sides. Biology and breeding : These
beatiful lizards are common in the smooth granite walls of the Augrabies Falls
National Park, where they tolerate thousands of tourists. In summer they gorge
on swarms of black flies that congregate near rivers, but can also be seen feeding
on the ripe berries of Namaqua fig trees. A major predator is the rock kestrel.
Sexual maturity is reached at around 64 mm SVL in both sexes. Females lays two
egg clutches in early summer. Habitat : Rocky arid savannah.
Range : Lower Orange River between Augrabies Falls and Pella.