Pungwe flat lizard
# Pungwe flat lizard

The Pungwe flat lizard (Platysaurus pungweensis) is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family.

## Description

Females and juveniles of the Pungwe flat lizard are black and striped on their backs. Males vary by subspecies. The species resembles the common flat lizard, Platysaurus intermedius.

## Geography

Pungwe flat lizards live in eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique. The type was obtained at the Pungwe River at 730 m (2,400 ft) above sea level, near the eastern border of Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe).

## Habitat and ecology

Pungwe flat lizards inhabit low rock outcrops and large hills in mesic savanna. They eat ants and beetles.

## Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted:

* P. p. pungweensis – Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique
* P. p. blakei Broadley, 1964 – outcrops and inselbergs in the lowlands of southern Manica Platform, central Mozambique. Type locality 24 kilometres (15 miles) southeast of Vila de Manica.
