Smaug breyeri, also known commonly as the Waterberg dragon lizard or the Waterberg girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.
Etymology The specific name, breyeri, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Hermann Gottfried Breyer.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Cordylus warreni breyeri, p. 38).
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of S. breyeri is rocky areas of savanna, at altitudes of .
Description Adults of S. breyeri usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , but may grow as large as SVL.
Reproduction S. breyeri is viviparous. Two to four young are born in summer. Compared to adults, the neonates are quite large, each measuring about in total length (including tail).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. . (Cordylus breyeri, p. 197 + Plate 105).
References
Further reading FitzSimons VF (1943). The Lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 1. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum. xvi + 528 pp. (Cordylus warreni breyeri, new combination). 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. (Smaug breyeri, new combination). Van Dam GPF (1921). "Descriptions of new species of Zonurus, and notes on the species of Zonurus occurring in the Transvaal". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 7 (4): 239–243. (Zonurus breyeri, new species).