Platysaurus

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Genus of lizards

title: "Platysaurus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["platysaurus", "lizard-genera", "lizards-of-africa", "taxa-named-by-andrew-smith-(zoologist)"] description: "Genus of lizards" topic_path: "general/platysaurus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platysaurus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of lizards ::

| image = Platysaurus imperator 661275.jpg | image_caption = Platysaurus imperator | taxon = Platysaurus | authority = A. Smith, 1844

Platysaurus is a genus of lizards, commonly known as flat lizards for their flat backs, in the family Cordylidae.

Geographic range

All species in the genus Platysaurus live in isolated populations in southern Africa. They are found in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana, southern Namibia and northern and western South Africa.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Illustrations_of_the_zoology_of_South_Africa_(6263337715),_views_of_head_and_hind_limb.jpg" caption="P. capensis]]'', views of head and hind limb"] ::

The species of Platysaurus exhibit sexual dimorphism. Females and juveniles often have black or brown backs with white stripes, while males are much more colored. Also, males are somewhat larger than females.

Species

The following 16 described species are recognized as being valid.

References

References

  1. (29 July 2015). "''Platysaurus'' Smith, 1844".
  2. {{NRDB genus

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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