---
title: "Common Giant Plated Lizard"
description: "Matobosaurus validus — Reptiles. The giant plated lizard (Matobosaurus validus) is a lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae, which is found in dry to mesic habitats of southern Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/es/animal/common-giant-plated-lizard
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Giant Plated Lizard

> Matobosaurus validus — Reptiles. The giant plated lizard (Matobosaurus validus) is a lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae, which is found in dry to mesic habitats of southern Africa.

- Scientific name: *Matobosaurus validus*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Sabana)
- iNaturalist observations: 930
- Wikidata: [Q3061063](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3061063)
- iNaturalist taxon: [539980](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/539980)

## Names

- en: Common Giant Plated Lizard
- de: Felsenschildechse

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (719), ZW (72), MW (21), MZ (21), BW (13), SZ (12), ZM (11)

## Summary

The giant plated lizard (Matobosaurus validus) is a lizard in the family Gerrhosauridae, which is found in dry to mesic habitats of southern Africa. They are wary and stay close to their rocky retreats.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_plated_lizard

## Photo

![Common Giant Plated Lizard](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-giant-plated-lizard/medium.jpg)

Photo: Marius Burger · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/135582791

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-giant-plated-lizard?lang=es` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).