Tropidosaura essexi, also known commonly as Essex's mountain lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Etymology The specific name, essexi, is in honor of South African herpetologist Robert Essex.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Tropidosaura essexi, p. 85).
Geographic range T. essexi is found in Lesotho and South Africa.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of T. essexi is grassland, at altitudes of .
Description T. essexi is small for its genus. Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of only .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. . (Tropidosaura essexi, p. 175 + Plate 103).
Behavior T. essexi is diurnal and terrestrial.
Reproduction T. essexi is viviparous, and is the only African lacertid known to be viviparous.
References
Further reading FitzSimons VF (1943). The Lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 1. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xvi + 528 pp. (Tropidosaura essexi, p. 309). Hewitt J (1927). "Further descriptions of reptiles and batrachians from South Africa". Records of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown 3 (5): 371–415. (Tropidosaura essexi, new species, p. 378). Nicolau GK, Jackson EA, Jordaan A, Alexander GJ (2022). "Tropidosaura essexi Hewitt, 1927 (Reptilia: Lacertidae) is live bearing: the only viviparous African lacertid". African Journal of Herpetology 71 (2): 194–200.