biology

Mitchell's flat lizard

Mitchell's flat lizard is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mitchell's flat lizard rather than just read about it. In short: Mitchell's flat lizard (Platysaurus mitchelli) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is native to Southeast Africa.

Key takeaways

Mitchell's flat lizard belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mitchell's flat lizard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mitchell's flat lizard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mitchell's flat lizard (Platysaurus mitchelli) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is native to Southeast Africa.

Etymology The specific name, mitchelli, is in honor of naturalist Bernard Lindley Mitchell of the Department of Game, Fish, and Tsetse Control in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in the 1940s.

Geographic range Platysaurus mitchelli is found in Malawi and Mozambique.

Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Platysaurus mitchelli is rocky areas, in both forest and grassland, at elevations of 700–2,800 m (2,300–9,200 ft).

Behavior Platysaurus mitchelli shelters in cracks and crevices of rocks, emerging to forage.

Reproduction Platysaurus mitchelli is oviparous.

References

Further reading Adolphs, Klaus (2006). Bibliotheca Cordyliformium: Neues Quellenverzeichnis der Gürtelschweife und Schildechsen (Reptilia, Cordylidae und Gerrhosauridae). Sankt Augustin, Germany: Squamata Verlag für Herpetologie. ISBN 9783980508612. 303 pp. (in German) Broadley, D.G. (1978). "A revision of the genus Platysaurus A. Smith (Sauria: Cordylidae)". Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural Sciences. 6 (4): 129–185. Loveridge, A. (1953). "Zoological Results of a Fifth Expedition to East Africa. III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 110 (3): 142–322. (Platysaurus mitchelli, new species, pp. 234–237). Stanley, Edward L.; Bauer, Aaron M.; Jackman, Todd R.; Branch, William R.; Mouton, P. Le Fras N. (2011). "Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58 (1): 53–70.

External links Taxonomy and range of Platysaurus mitchelli at ZipcodeZoo.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mitchell's flat lizard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mitchell's flat lizard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mitchell's flat lizard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mitchell's flat lizard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mitchell's flat lizard

In research: Mitchell's flat lizard appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mitchell's flat lizard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mitchell's flat lizard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic fauna of Malawi, IUCN Red List least concern species, Lizard stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mitchell's flat lizard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Mitchell's flat lizard” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Mitchell's flat lizard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mitchell's flat lizard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mitchell's flat lizard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mitchell's flat lizard in simple terms?

Mitchell's flat lizard (Platysaurus mitchelli) is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. The species is native to Southeast Africa.

Why does Mitchell's flat lizard matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mitchell's flat lizard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mitchell's flat lizard.