Karusasaurus polyzonus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Karusasaurus polyzonus, commonly known as the Karoo girdled lizard or the southern karusa lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. Karusasaurus, the genus name, is derived from the Khosian word "Karusa" and the Latinized Greek word "saurus." Karusa translates to "dry" or "barren," and "saurus" translates to "lizard."
The Karoo girdled lizard is a rather large species. Its distance from its snout to its cloaca (known as snout-to-vent length) is roughly 120 millimeters, which is nearly 5 inches. It has osteoderms distributed throughout its body. It varies greatly in color – specimens range from black, red, to turquoise. Individuals can also be spotted.
The Karoo girdled lizard is a common species, distributed throughout the southern part of Africa. Specifically, it occurs in Southern Namibia, and most of South Africa. Specimens have also been recorded in other nearby areas, but these have not been confirmed. It covers an area of almost 150,000 square kilometers in total.
The Karoo girdled lizard almost always dwells in rocky areas – besides that, their habitat varies somewhat. It occurs at lower elevations... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartbeespoort Dam Snake and Animal Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Karoo Girdled Lizard sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 88 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Karoo Girdled Lizard in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, the lowest month. That is one of West Coast National Park's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 5 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Karoo Girdled Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only West Coast National Park, in our data
West Coast National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Karoo Girdled Lizard sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Cordylidae
The closest relatives of the Karoo Girdled Lizard that you can see in West Coast National Park (family Cordylidae, Girdle-tail Lizards) are Black Girdled Lizard (about 20%), 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 Karoo Girdled Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (88 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.
