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Northern Crag Lizard
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(Endemic) SVL 130-140 mm; max SVL 151 mm male, 134 mm female.
The largest crag lizard in which the frontonasal is usually undivided and the nasals separated. There are usually four suboculars, and two rows of femorals (which may be irregular). The lateral scales are smaller than the spaces between them. Females have well-developed femoral pores. Breeding males are dark olive (sometimes yellowish) with 8-9 dark crossbars that fade with age. The flanks are yellow to olive-yellow, as are the limbs which are also blotched with black. The tail is yellow to orange above, paler below, with regulra dark bars on the sides. The head is darg grey-black above, and paler on the sides and below. The belly is olive to yellowish sith scattered dark infusions. Females are olive-coloured with dark crossbars. The brown head has dark markings and becomes paler on the sides. The throat is blackish, the belly pale olive and the tail heavily barred with black. Biology and breeding: Found singly or in small groups, usually consisting of a single dominant male and a number of females and juveniles. Two to seven young (up to 82 mm TL) are born in midsummer. Habitat: Rock outcrops in grassland on mountain summits. Range: Found in three isolated populations in S. Northern Province.