Chamaesaura aenea
Coppery Grass Lizard
Alternative Names
lcikilishi (Xhosa)
Isibankwa (Zulu)
Koper Grasakkedis (Afrikaans)
Transvaalse siangakkedis (Afrikaans)
Transvaal snake-lizard (English)
Species: Chamaesaura aenea (Fitzinger, 1843)
Distribution: Eswatini; South Africa
Distribution extended: Potentially occurs in Lesotho
Type Locality: “Afr.”
Notes: “Südafrika” is written on the label of the holotype. Südafrika = South Africa.
Habitat: Grassland
Habitat extended:
Natural History: Diurnal, found actively moving through grass. Often shelters at the base of grass tussocks, rarely found underneath rocks.
Biology:
Conservation Status: According to the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as "Least Concern," indicating that it is not currently considered to be at high risk of extinction.
Additional information
The Reptile Database (See here)
IUCN Red List (See here)
iNaturalist (See here)
LITERATURE
Bates, M. F. (1996). New reptile distribution records for the Free State province of South Africa. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum: Researches of the National Museum, 12(1), 18-22.
Bates, M. F. (1991). A provisional check list of the reptiles and amphibians of Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Koedoe, 34(2), 153-155.
Bauer, A. M. (2000). Comments on the types and type localities of South African reptiles collected by Heinrich Bergius and Ludwig Krebs. African Journal of Herpetology, 49(1), 53-60.
Bauer, A. M., Lang, M., & Günther, R. (1994). An annotated type catalogue of the pygopods, xantusiids, gerrhosaurs and cordylids (Reptilia: Squamata: Pygopodidae, Xantusiidae, Gerrhosauridae and Cordylidae) in the collection of the Zoological Museum, Berlin. Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Zoologisches Museum und Institut für Spezielle Zoologie (Berlin), 70(1), 85-92.
Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp.
Harvey, M. B., & Gutberlet Jr, R. L. (1995). Microstructure, evolution, and ontogeny of scale surfaces in cordylid and gerrhosaurid lizards. Journal of Morphology, 226(2), 121-139.
Jacobsen, N. (1978). Colloquial names for southern African reptiles and amphibians. The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa, 18(1), 7-13.
Jordaan, P. R., Wilken, A., & Botha, H. (2023). Baseline herpetological survey of the terrestrial grasslands on Verloren Valei Nature Reserve, Steenkampsberge, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Herpetology Notes, 16, 331-343.
Masterson, G. P., Maritz, B., Mackay, D., & Alexander, G. J. (2009). The impacts of past cultivation on the reptiles in a South African grassland. African Journal of Herpetology, 58(2), 71-84.
Simelane, T. S., & Kerley, G. I. H. (1997). Recognition of reptiles by Xhosa and Zulu communities in South Africa, with notes on traditional beliefs and uses. African Journal of Herpetology, 46(1), 49-53.
Stanley, E. L., Bauer, A. M., Jackman, T. R., Branch, W. R., & Mouton, P. L. F. N. (2011). Between a rock and a hard polytomy: rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 58(1), 53-70.