The Yellow-Throated Plated Lizard or Plated Lizard, (Gerrhosaurus flavigularis), is about 45½ cm (18 inches) in length and lives in the grassland and scrub of Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 and along Eastern Africa down to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

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Description

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.

Behaviour

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 danger darts into its burrow, usually positioned under a bush.

The female plated lizard lays clutches of 4 or 5 eggs in a shallow pit which she excavates.