Species Fact Profile: Warren's Girdled Lizard (Smaug warreni)

 Warren's Girdled Lizard (Lebombo Dragon)                          

                                                Smaug warreni (Boulenger, 1908)

Range: Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana)

Habitat:  Wooded Savannah, Mountain Slopes 

Diet: Large Arthropods (especially termites), Small Vertebrates.  Some plant matter

Social Grouping: Groups of up to 60 (usually fewer), with males being territorial of rock heaps

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous.  Breeding takes place September through October.  1-2 young born live after a gestation period 6-8 months.  Females may breed every other year.  Sexually mature when they reach a body length of about 9-10 centimeters

Lifespan: 20-25 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern, CITES Appendix II

•       Snout to tail length 10-13 centimeters, with tail slightly longer than that
•       Dorsal coloration sandy brown with 5-6 darker bands.  Sides and belly are pale with brown markings, paler on the throat.  Back and tail are covered with armor-like plates
•       Species name honors British zoologist Ernest Warren, who collected the first specimen
•       Sometimes also called "armadillo lizards" because of their defensive mechanism.  When threatened, curl into a ring, protecting vulnerable belly with spiny dorsal surface.  May then bite tail to form a circle.  
•       Communicate with tail wags, head bobs, and tongue-flicks to demonstrate dominance
•       Natural range is small, specialized, and isolated, but species is still considered secure in the wild.  Exported for the pet trade, but not believed to be unsustainable at this point