Cordylus niger
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
Cordylus niger, the black girdled lizard, is a medium-sized lizard restricted to Table Mountain on the Cape Peninsula and a second, isolated population near Langebaan. Black girdled lizards inhabit rocky outcrops on Table Mountain, South Africa. Unlike many other lizard species in the area, these particular Cordylus lizards are not social and are usually seen alone. They are spiny, flat, and pitch black in colour.
Their colour helps these unique lizards to absorb sufficient heat from the sun, in what is one of the darkest, least sunny parts of South Africa. Branch, B., 1998. Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa: Ralph Curtis Books Publishing, Sanibel Island, Florida, 399 p.
Fitzsimons, V. F., 1943. The Lizards of South Africa: Transvaal Museum Memoir, Pretoria. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Girdled Lizard sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black Girdled Lizard in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Girdled Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black Girdled Lizard sightings, West Coast National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 50%).
Same genus: Cordylus
The closest relatives of the Black Girdled Lizard that you can see in West Coast National Park (genus Cordylus) are Cape Girdled Lizard (about 20%) and Large-scaled Girdled Lizard (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Girdled Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (22 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.
