Cordylus macropholis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Cordylus macropholis, the large-scaled girdled lizard, is a small (55-77 mm) lizard endemic to the west coast of South Africa. They spend most of their time on and around a single plant species, Euphorbia caput-medusae which only occupies around 5% of the vegetation present. It is thought that they restrict themselves to these plants because they provide safer hiding places than most other shrubs, house a large range of invertebrate prey, and provide good thermal microhabitats. They can additionally be found sunbathing on, or hiding in between rocks, as these could provide protection from larger predators from which their physical adaptations might not provided them with adequate protection. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Large-scaled Girdled Lizard sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Large-scaled Girdled Lizard in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, June and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Large-scaled 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 Large-scaled Girdled Lizard sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Cordylus
The closest relatives of the Large-scaled Girdled Lizard that you can see in West Coast National Park (genus Cordylus) are Black Girdled Lizard (about 20%) and Cape Girdled Lizard (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Large-scaled Girdled Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (8 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.
