{{Short description|Species of lizard}} {{Use South African English|date = November 2023}} {{speciesbox | name = ''Platysaurus broadleyi'' | image = Broadley's Flat Lizard (Platysaurus broadleyi) male (6857301934).jpg | image_caption = Male colouration at Augrabies Falls National Park | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Bates, M.F. |author2=Whiting, M.J. |date=2018 |title=''Platysaurus broadleyi'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T110163858A115676463 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T110163858A115676463.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Platysaurus | species = broadleyi | authority = Branch & Whiting, 1997 | range_map = {{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=center|plain=yes|from=Augrabies flat lizard range.map}} | range_map_caption = IUCN distribution of the Augrabies flat lizard {{leftlegend|#199196|Extant (resident)}} }}
'''''Platysaurus broadleyi''''', known commonly as the '''Augrabies flat lizard''', is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.<ref>Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-042-5}}. (''Platysaurus broadleyi'', p. 199 + Plate 105).</ref><ref name="Beolens2011">Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Platysaurus broadleyi'', p. 39).</ref><ref name="rdb" />
==Etymology== The specific name, ''broadleyi'' is in honour of African herpetologist Donald George Broadley.<ref name="Beolens2011"/> The original species description by Branch and Whiting (1997) makes it clear that the correct common name is the Augrabies flat lizard. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Broadley's flat lizard because the specific epithet is ''broadleyi''.
==Geographic range== The Augrabies flat lizard has its geographic range for 200 km centred on Augrabies Falls, and west to Pella in the Northern Cape, South Africa. This area includes river valleys along the lower Orange River, Northern Cape Province, and Gordonia District.<ref name=rdb>{{Cite web | url = http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Platysaurus&species=broadleyi | title = ''Platysaurus broadleyi'' BRANCH & WHITING, 1997 | work = The Reptile Database | access-date = 2007-08-06}}</ref><ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021"/>
==Habitat== The preferred natural habitat of ''P. broadleyi'' is rocky areas in both savanna and shrubland, at altitudes of {{convert|610|–|730|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021" />
==Description== ''P. broadleyi'' females and juveniles have a dark brown back, with three thick, cream stripes on the back. These stripes may be broken up into spots, or have spots in between the stripes. The belly is white, sometimes with a black dot on it, and at the rear there is an orange colour. The tail is straw-coloured. Adult males have a bluish head and a greenish back. A darker area in the middle and the vestiges of the juvenile stripes and spots are also present. The forelimbs are yellow to orange, the throat is dark blue, and the belly is black in the front but becomes orange near the tail. Above the tail, it is a tan colour, while below and on the sides, it is orange. All this colouration, while helping to attract females, also has a downside: predators such as kestrels easily spot them. Females, on the other hand, have much more subdued colouration and are less likely to be eaten.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://flickr.com/photos/jo_mur/2312505146/| title = Image of Flat Lizard (''Platysaurus broadleyi'' ) | work = posted on Flickr | access-date = 26 December 2008| date = 2008-03-05 }}</ref> The Augrabies flat lizard is very similar to ''Platysaurus capensis'', or the Cape flat lizard, in scalation, but differs in having finer scalation on top of the forelimbs.
Medium-sized for its genus, ''P. broadleyi'' may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of {{convert|8.4|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=rdb/>
{{Multiimage | image1 = Augrabies Flat Lizard (Platysaurus broadleyi) male ... (31272877917).jpg | image2 = Platysaurus broadleyi03.jpg | align = center | caption2 = Female }}
==Habits== Augrabies flat lizards are common on the granite walls of Augrabies Falls National Park, where they are exposed to thousands of tourists. In summer, they perform acrobatic leaps to catch black flies on the wing from the swarms that gather near rivers, but they will also eat ripe berries of Namaqua figs. Augrabies flat lizards will follow bird flocks to find these fruit-laden trees.<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16021653.600-follow-that-bird.html | title = Follow that bird | work = New Scientist | date = 1998-12-19 | access-date = 2007-08-06}}</ref> One major predator of this lizard is the rock kestrel. Research indicates that the higher the UV levels on a male's throat, the more dominant it is and is less likely to be challenged.<ref>{{Cite journal | title = Ultraviolet signals fighting ability in a lizard | journal = Biology Letters | date = 2006-06-22 | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 169–172 |author=Stapley J, Whiting MJ | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0419 | pmid = 17148355 | pmc = 1618919}}</ref> These flat lizards have been discovered to have a much higher visual sensitivity to UV light than other lizards species, allowing males to accurately distinguish between conspecifics of various fitness. They have as many as three times the number of UV photoreceptor cells in their retina compared to other lizards.<ref>[http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/lizards-use-secret-uv-signals.htm/ Lizards found to send secret signals] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318214513/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/lizards-use-secret-uv-signals.htm/ |date=March 18, 2011 }}, Australian Geographic, March 16, 2011.</ref>
==Breeding== Sexual maturity in ''P. broadleyi'' is reached at around {{convert|64|mm|in|abbr=on}} snout-vent length for both sexes. Females lay two clutches of eggs in early summer. Males demonstrate a preference for larger female mates, most likely due to the positive correlation between the size of a female and the eggs she produces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whiting |first1=Martin J.|last2=Bateman |first2=Philip W.|title=Male preference for large females in the lizard ''Platysaurus broadleyi ''|journal=Journal of Herpetology |date=1999 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=309–312 |doi=10.2307/1565730 |jstor=1565730 }}</ref>
==See also== *''Platysaurus''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *Baxter-Gilbert J, Parsons J, Bostock C, Riley JL (2019). "Hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') predation on an Augrabies flat lizard (''Platysaurus broadleyi)''". ''Herpetological Bulletin'' '''148''': 37–38. *Branch WR, Whiting MJ (1997). "A new ''Platysaurus'' (Squamata: Cordylidae) from the Northern Cape Province, South Africa". ''African Journal of Herpetology'' '''46''' (2): 124-136. (''Platysaurus broadleyi'', new species). *Greeff, Whiting MJ (1999). "Dispersal of Namaqua Fig (''Ficus cordata cordata'') Seeds by the Augrabies Flat Lizard (''Platysaurus broadleyi)''". ''Journal of Herpetology'' ''33''' (2): 328–330.
==External links== {{Commons category|Platysaurus broadleyi}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071007125634/http://www.tallbo.com/platysaurus/p_broadleyi.htm More information] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvP3aHiDDn8 Broadley's flat lizard at Aughrabies]
{{Cordylidae}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q3019561}}
Category:Platysaurus Category:Endemic reptiles of South Africa Category:Lizards of Africa Category:Reptiles described in 1997 Category:Taxa named by William Roy Branch