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East African Spiny-Tailed Lizard

(Cordylus tropidosternum)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to three East African spiny-tailed lizards (Common name: tropical girdled lizard). Their habitat is located inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Other common names for this species are “dwarf sungazer” and “tropical girdled lizard”.
This lizard protects itself by grabbing its tail in its mouth – this creates an armored girdle by forming a ring with the sharp spines sticking out.
The East African spiny-tailed lizard is ovoviviparous, bearing live young instead of laying external eggs.
A threatened girdled lizard can wedge itself into a small opening and then inflate its lungs to make the fit even tighter; blocking the opening with its tail.
Two layers of armor protect this lizard: its spiny scales and the bony plates that support them.

Diet

East African spiny-tailed lizards are carnivores, and feed mainly on invertebrates.

Status in The Wild

  • Not Evaluated

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These lizards are found throughout the southern coast of Kenya to eastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.

They are ground-dwellers and prefer dry forest habitats.

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