Episode 10 is all about Southern African armoured lizards of the family Cordylidae. Some live in groups - why? Why are they so damn spikey? These and other mysteries at least partially revealed. Plus, a brand new species of cordylid lizard from Angola and an aside about the tokay gecko trade. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:

Broeckhoven, Chris, Genevieve Diedericks, Cang Hui, Buyisile G. Makhubo, and P. le Fras N. Mouton. 2016. “Enemy at the Gates: Rapid Defensive Trait Diversification in an Adaptive Radiation of Lizards.” Evolution 70 (11): 2647–56.

Broeckhoven, Chris, and Pieter Le Fras Nortier Mouton. 2015. “Some like It Hot: Camera Traps Unravel the Effects of Weather Conditions and Predator Presence on the Activity Levels of Two Lizards.” PLoS ONE 10 (9): 1–15. OPEN ACCESS

Mouton, P le Fras N, Janine L Glover, and Alexander F Flemming. 2014. “Solitary Individuals in Populations of the Group-Living Lizard Ouroborus Cataphractus: Voluntary or Forced?” African Zoology 49 (2): 307–10.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Stanley, Edward L., Luis MP Ceriaco, Suzana Bandeira, Hilaria Valerio, Michael F. Bates, and William R. Branch. 2016. "A review of Cordylus machadoi (Squamata: Cordylidae) in southwestern Angola, with the description of a new species from the Pro-Namib desert." Zootaxa 4061(3): 201-226.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Ariefiandy, Achmad, Deni Purwandana, Aganto Seno, Claudio Ciofi, and Tim S. Jessop. 2013. “Can Camera Traps Monitor Komodo Dragons a Large Ectothermic Predator?” PLoS ONE 8 (3): 1–8. OPEN ACCESS

Brodie III, E.D., and E.D. Brodie Jr. 1999. “Costs of Exploiting Poisonous Prey: Evolutionary Trade-Offs in a Predator-Prey Arms Race.” Evolution 2 (53): 626–31. OPEN ACCESS

Buchanan, S. W., Timm, B. C., Cook, R. P., Couse, R., & Hazard, L. C. (2016). Surface Activity and Body Temperature of Eastern Hognose Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos) at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts USA. Journal of Herpetology.

Ivany, L C, W P Patterson, and K C Lohmann. 2000. “Cooler Winters as a Possible Cause of Mass Extinctions at the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary.” Nature 407 (6806): 887–90.

Lima, S. L. (1995). Back to the basics of anti-predatory vigilance: the group-size effect. Animal Behaviour, 49(1), 11-20.

Losos, Jonathan B., P.Le Fras N. Mouton, Ryan Bickel, Ian Cornelius, and Lanral Ruddock. 2002. “The Effect of Body Armature on Escape Behaviour in Cordylid Lizards.” Animal Behaviour 64 (2): 313–21.

Mouton, P., Flemming, A. F., & Kanga, E. M. (1999). Grouping behaviour, tail-biting behaviour and sexual dimorphism in the armadillo lizard (Cordylus cataphractus) from South Africa. Journal of Zoology, 249(1), 1-10.

Nijman, Vincent, and Chris R Shepherd. 2015. “TRAFFIC Report: Adding up the Numbers : An Investigation into Commercial Breeding of Tokay Gecko in Indonesia.” Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. OPEN ACCESS

Stanley, Edward L.; Aaron M. Bauer; Todd R. Jackman, William R. Branch, P. Le Fras N. Mouton 2011. Between a rock and a hard polytomy: rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizard (Squamata: Cordylidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 58(1): 53-70.

Truter, Johannes Christoff, Johannes Hendrik VanWyk, and Pieter le Fras Nortier Mouton. 2014. “An Evaluation of Daily, Seasonal and Population-Level Variation in the Thermal Preference of a Group-Living Lizard, Ouroborus Cataphractus (Sauria: Cordylidae).” Amphibia-Reptilia 35 (4): 391–403.

Zachos, J., Mark Pagani, Lisa Sloan, Ellen Thomas, and Katharina Billups. 2001. “Trends, Rhythms, and Aberrations in Global Climate 65 Ma to Present.” Science 292 (5517): 686–93.

Other links and mentions:

iHerp magazine - https://iherpaustralia.com.au/

Music – Treehouse by Ed Nelson