A new species of spectacularly coloured flat lizard Platysaurus (Squamata: Cordylidae: Platysaurinae) from southern Africa

Researchers have identified a new species of flat lizard, Platysaurus attenboroughi, from the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape in South Africa and Namibia. This discovery was made through genetic analysis, which revealed significant divergence between this species and its previously confused counterpart, P. capensis. The study used one mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and two nuclear DNA (nDNA) loci to confirm the distinction, supported by differences in scalation, coloration, and geographic distribution. To clarify taxonomy, the type locality of P. capensis was restricted to the Kamiesberg region in Namaqualand, South Africa.

WHITING, M. J., BRANCH, W. R., PEPPER, M., & KEOGH, J. S. (2015). A new species of spectacularly coloured flat lizard Platysaurus (Squamata: Cordylidae: Platysaurinae) from southern Africa. Zootaxa, 3986(2). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3986.2.2