 acrylic on panel 14" x 11" $4,000. |
The girdle-tailed lizards comprise a family of reptiles found in eastern and southern Africa. They are mostly armored dwellers of rocky country that shelter in crevices, but the largest member of the group, the Sungazer (Smaug giganteus), digs burrows in the soil of grasslands. It is well-protected with bony spines on its head, neck, back and tail. It’s named for its distinctive basking position, with its head pointed towards the sky. At 15 to 16 inches in length, it is a stately animal, and was exported in large numbers in the 1970s for the pet trade. That, along with habitat loss, has progressively decreased the Sungazer’s numbers over the years, and today this once-common lizard is classed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN. |