giant girdled lizard
giant dragon lizard
sungazer
smaug giganteus latin

Giant girdled lizards do not breed readily in captivity, and only one record exists for a successful breeding attempt outside of South Africa.

The giant girdled lizard is protected by spiny dorsal scales and four large occipital spines along the back of its head.

Wild caught giant girdled lizards are therefore imported from South Africa to the USA, Europe and Japan, where they command a very high price.

The giant girdled lizard (Cordylus giganteus), also known as the sungazer, giant spiny-tailed lizard or giant zonure, is the largest species of girdled lizard.

Unlike the other rock-dwelling members of Cordylidae, giant girdled lizards live in self-excavated burrows in the silty soil of the Themeda grassland in South Africa.

The alternative name sungazer comes from their habit of sitting at their burrow entrances and facing the sun while thermoregulating.

Instead of reintroducing one of the "Big Five" into the park, the sungazer lizard and water mongoose were reintroduced.

These include the Priest Defender (Priest) and Sungazer (Wizard).

Some species, including the 'Sungazer' ('Cordylus giganteus') and the 'Armadillo lizard' ('Cordylus cataphractus') reproduce every other year or produce one baby at a time.

The giant girdled lizard (Cordylus giganteus), also known as the sungazer, giant spiny-tailed lizard or giant zonure, is the largest species of girdled lizard.

The East African spiny-tailed lizard (Cordylus tropidosternum common name: dwarf sungazer), also known as the tropical girdled lizard, is an arboreal or rupicolous (rock-dwelling) lizard found in dry forests of East Africa.