Gerrhosaurus flavigularis
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The yellow-throated plated lizard or plated lizard (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis) is a species of lizard, which is about 45½ cm (18 inches) in total length (including tail) and lives in the grassland and scrub of Sudan, Ethiopia and along Eastern Africa down to South Africa.
A ground-living and burrowing lizard, this species is usually greenish-grey or brownish, with a yellow (or sometimes red) throat and often a narrow stripe down each side. It is well armored, with hard body plates, and head shields fused to the skull. The tail is generally about two-thirds of the total length. Its limbs are well-developed, though its four five-toed feet are not specially adapted for digging. These lizards mate during the summer. In mating season the males head change color to either red, yellow or even light blue.
It was first described in 1828 by Weigmann, based on specimens at the Natural History Museum in Berlin that were collected in South Africa by Ludwig Krebs. The lizard does most of its tunneling after rain when the ground is soft.
Active by day, it hunts insects and is rarely seen, despite its size. It moves rapidly through the "grass" and at any sign of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Downtown Aquarium, Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-throated Plated Lizard sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 62 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-throated Plated Lizard in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-throated Plated Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Yellow-throated Plated Lizard sightings, Kruger National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-throated Plated Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kruger National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
