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Tropidosaura cottrelli

species of reptile

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ5079769 ↗
Source-derived summary

Tropidosaura cottrelli, also known commonly as Cottrell's mountain lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, cottrelli, is in honor of South African ornithologist John Awdry Cottrell, who collected the holotype.

Geographic range

T. cottrelli is found in Lesotho and South Africa.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. cottrelli is grassland, at altitudes of 2,500–3,300 m (8,200–10,800 ft).

Description

T. cottrelli is large for its genus. Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 5.5–6.5 cm (2.2–2.6 in).

Reproduction

T. cottrelli is oviparous. An adult female may lay as many as four eggs.

References

Further reading

Hewitt J (1925).

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tropidosaura cottrelli” as species of reptile. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1925—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Tropidosaura, cottrelli and species can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of reptile. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5079769. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1925.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tropidosaura cottrelli”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tropidosaura cottrelli primary sources, Tropidosaura cottrelli archive and Tropidosaura research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tropidosaura cottrelli”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Tropidosaura cottrelli” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.