The Sekukhune flat lizard (Platysaurus orientalis) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. It has two subspecies.
Description Females and juveniles of P. orientalis have a black back with white stripes, as well as a white belly. Adult males have a green body, and a tail which is orange or red above, and yellow underneath. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of ; the longest recorded SVL is .Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Platysaurus orientalis, pp. 199-200 + Plate 74).
Geographic range and habitat The Sekukhune flat lizard lives in a small area of savannah in South Africa in the Sekhukhuneland natural region. This includes the Mpumalanga Escarpment.
Reproduction Female Sekukhune flat lizards lay two eggs in a rock crack in early summer.
Diet The diet of the Sekukhune flat lizard includes insects, including caterpillars.
Subspecies Two subspecies are recognized. www.reptile-database.org.
P. o. orientalis – Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga in South Africa. P. o. fitzsimonsi – eastern Sekhukhuneland.
The subspecific name, fitzsimonsi, is in honor of South African herpetologist (Mr.) Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Platysaurus orientalis fitzsimonsi, p. 91).
See also Platysaurus Cordylidae
References
Further reading FitzSimons V (1941). "Descriptions of some New Lizards from South Africa and a Frog from Southern Rhodesia". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 20 (3): 273-281. (Platysaurus minor orientalis, new subspecies, p. 280). Jacobsen NHG, Newbery RE (1989). "The Genus Platysaurus A. Smith 1844 in the Transvaal". African Journal of Herpetology 36: 51-63. (Platysaurus orientalis, new combination; Platysaurus orientalis fitzsimonsi, new combination). Loveridge A (1944). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Cordylidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 95 (1): 1-118 + Plates 1-12. (Platysaurus guttatus fitzsimonsi, new subspecies, pp. 88–89). Stanley EL, Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Branch WR, Mouton PLFN (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58 (1): 53–70.
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