The AG lizard as an adult will grow to be an average length of 75 to 90mm but its small size doesn’t mean that it is defenseless. This amazing lizard lives in a areas that are very dry in the large cracks in the outcrops. was a short paragraph describing the armadillo lizard and its basic needs in captivity. The armadillo girdled lizard is a fascinating reptile that can be found in the western coast of South Africa. people might not even know that armadillo lizards exist.
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The species is protected under the Nature Conservation Ordinance of the Western Cape Province and is on Schedule II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).įor more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.Interesting Facts about the Armadillo girdled lizard
Threatened by the international illegal reptile pet tradeīecause they live in family groups and are relatively easy to catch, the international illegal reptile pet trade is a growing threat. Teamwork by CapeNature Conservation Services, the Biodiversity Crime Unit, the Nuwerus, Lutzville and Malmesbury police officers of the Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit, and the Organised Crime office of the National Prosecuting Authority made these substantial convictions possible. Titre : Grouping behaviour in the armadillo girdled lizard, Cordylus cataphractus. He was arrested while collecting the lizards in the veld. He was planning on selling them in Japan where they are highly sought after as pets. During the pursuit, he threw a cooler bag containing the reptiles out of his car window.Īnother Japanese man, Takashi Handa, was sentenced to a R300,000 fine or six years’ imprisonment for collecting and possessing Armadillo girdled lizards without permits. Koji Ikoma, who was arrested on November 24, 2017, after a high-speed car chase with police, admitted to poaching and possessing the reptiles. In May 2018, a Japanese man faced a sentence of a R1 million fine or 13 years’ imprisonment for the illegal possession and transport of 48 Armadillo girdled lizards, Cape Times reported. These odd creatures are considered small-sized reptiles and feature a variety of colors that. Found in the crevices of the Succulent Karoo region, the armadillo lizard, or Ouroborus cataphractus, is both peculiar and endearing. Heavy fines or jail time for Japanese poachers One of the weirdest animals in the rocky plains of South Africa is the armadillo lizard. They can reach an average total length of about 150-200 mm.
It is one of the few lizards that does not lay eggs. Once a year in autumn, the female gives live birth to one or two babies. They are social animals and form family groups of up to 60 individuals in one crevice.
They often have to travel distances of between four and twenty meters to termite mounds which makes them vulnerable to poachers. Microhodotermes viator, as food source by the armadillo lizard, Ouroborus cataphractus, originated as an adaptation to survive the summer dry season in. They favour rocky areas as close as possible to termite mounds, as termites are an important food source. Because of their sharp armors along their bodies, they look like a medieval fairytale dragon. With its thorny exterior and unique defenses, the armadillo lizard might be both adorable and terrifying at the same time. This desert lizard is known by a variety of. They shelter in the holes and crevices of rock formations. This is a unique heavily-armored reptile native to South Africa. The armadillo lizard is an interesting species of reptile which lives only in the deserts of southern Africa. The Armadillo Lizards stay in family groups, and they will all live in the same rock crevice. Only 1 or 2 babies are born during that time. The Armadillo Lizard has its babies in the late summer.
These relatively slow-moving, rock-dwelling lizards are very shy and quick to hide when approached. The Armadillo Lizard can be found in the deserts of the southern tip of Africa.