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Reptiles on the Mogalakwena Reserves

Class: Reptilia (reptiles)

   Order: Testudines (chelonians)

     Suborder: Cryptodira (modern chelonians)
       Family: Testudinidae (land tortoises)
           Geochelone pardalis - mountain (leopard) tortoise
           Kinixys spekii - Speke's hinged tortoise

     Suborder: Pleurodira (side-necked terrapins)
       Family: Pelomedusidae (side-necked terrapins)
           Pelomedusa subrufa - marsh terrapin

   Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)

     Suborder: Serpentes (Ophidia) (snakes)
       Family: Typhlopidae (blind snakes)
           Rhinotyphlops schlegelii mucroso - Schlegel's beaked blind snake
       Family: Leptotyphlopidae (thread snakes)
           Leptotyphlops longicaudus - long-tailed thread snake
       Family: Boidae (boas and pythons)
        Subfamily: Pythoninae (pythons)
           Python natalensis - Southern African python
       Family: Atractaspididae (African burrowing snakes)
           Atractaspis bibronii - southern or Bibron's burrowing asp
       Family: Colubridae (typical snakes)
        Subfamily: Lamprophiinae (old world snakes)
           Lamprophis capensis - (fuliginosus) brown house snake
           Lycophidion capense capense - Cape wolf snake
           Mehelya nyassae - black file snake
           Pseudaspis cana - mole snake
       snakes whose relationships remain unsolved
           Prosymna bivittata - two-striped shovel-snout
        Subfamily: Psammophinae (sand snakes and relatives)
           Psammophylax tritaeniatus - striped skaapsteker
           Psammophis subtaeniatus subtaeniatus - stripe-bellied sand snake
        Subfamily: Colubrinae (colubrine snakes)
           Philothamnus semivariegatus - spotted bush snake
           Dasypeltis scabra - common or rhombic egg eater
           Dispholidus typus - typus boomslang
           Thelotornis capensis capensis - twig or vine snake
       Family: Elapidae (cobras, mambas and relatives)
        Subfamily: Elapinae (African elapids)
           Aspidelaps scutatus - shield-nose snake
           Naja annulifera annulifera - snouted (Egyptian) cobra
           Naja mossambica - Mozambique spitting cobra
           Dendroaspis polylepis - black mamba
       Family: Viperidae (vipers)
           Bitis arietans - puff adder

     Suborder: Amphisbaenia (worm lizards)
       Family: Amphisbaenidae (tropical worm lizards)
           Monopeltis sphenorhynchus sphenorhynchus -slender spade-snouted
           worm lizard

     Suborder: Sauria (Lacertilia) (lizards)
       Family: Scincidae (skinks)
        Subfamily: Lygosomatiinae (advanced skinks)
           Lygosoma sundevallii - Sundevall's writhing skink
           Trachylepis (Mabuya) (quinquetaeniata) margaritifer - five-lined or
           rainbow skink
           Trachylepis (Mabuya) (striata) striata - striped skink
           Trachylepis (Mabuya) varia - variable skink
           Trachylepis (Mabuya) variegata punctulata - variegated skink
           Panaspis sp. - spotted-neck snake-eyed skink
       Family: Lacertidae (old world lizards or lacertids)
           Heliobolus lugubris - Bushveld lizard
           Nucras holubi - Holub's sandveld lizard
       Family: Gerrhosauridae (plated lizards and relatives)
           Gerrhosaurus validus validus - giant plated lizard
       Family: Cordylidae (girdled lizards and relatives)
           Cordylus (tropidosternum) jonesi - tropical girdled lizard
           Platysaurus intermedius rhodesianus - common flat lizard
       Family: Varanidae (monitors)
           Varanus albigularis - rock monitor
           Varanus niloticus - water monitor
       Family: Agamidae (agamas)
           Agama armata - Peter's ground agama
       Family: Chamaeleonidae (chameleons)
           Chamaeleo dilepis - flap-neck chameleon
       Family: Gekkonidae (geckos)
           Hemidactylus mabouia - Moreau's tropical house gecko
           Lygodactylus capensis capensis - Cape dwarf gecko
           Chondro(Pachy)dactylus (turneri) bibronii - Turner's (Bibron's)
           thick-toed gecko
           Pachydactylus punctatus - speckled thick-toed gecko

   Order: Crocodylia (crocodilians)
       Family: Crocodylidae (crocodiles)
           Crocodylus niloticus - Nile crocodile