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Dwarf Crag Lizard
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(Endemic) SVL 70-75 mm; max SVL 76 mm.
This small species is easily confused with juvenile graceful crag lizards, P. capensis . It is lightly built with the long toes and a thin tail. The flanks are covered with keeled scales surrounded by granules. The nasals are in contact, separating the rostral and frontonasal. The nostril pierces the lower part of the nasal. There are four supraciliaries and the temporal scales are small and in three rows. There is no occipital. Two rows of enlarged scales along middle of the back are not separated by granular scales. The ventrals are in eight longitudial rows. There ar 9-11 femoral pores on each thigh. The tail is spinose, longer than the body, and has two scale rows per whorl. The body, head and tail are jet black. Two rows of yellow blotches occur along the backbone (sometimes absent), with a few other yellow markings in the neck region and back. The belly and throat are uniform slate grey. Biology and breeding: A very rare and restricted species that inhabits moist habitats in the mist belt of mountain summits. Agile and alert, retreating into narrow rock cracks in sandstone outcrops when disturbed. Habitat: Mountain fynbos. Range: A single isolated popiulation in the Hottentots-Holland Mountains of the SW Cape.