Holotype: LR 686, an adult male in the L R G Raw Collection. Collected in undergrowth in disturbed coastal dune forest by L R G Raw and G Setaro on 1 June 1974.

Type locality: St Lucia Estuary, Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (2832AD).

Diagnosis: A small species in which the dorsal crest does not reach the tail. There are blue lateral grooves on the flanks and the gular grooves are blue-white.

Description: Snout sharp, distance from tip to anterior border of eye greater than diameter of eye. Casque raised and produced posteriorly; median parietal crest straight; temporal crests distinctly developed. Subocular tubercle slightly raised and not bordering mouth. Color of gular grooves is blue-white. Gular crest lobes have median lobes largest. Gular lobes mostly triangular, with denticulate edges. Flanks have blue longitudinal grooves. Posterior dorsolateral scales form a distinct barred pattern. Mid-flank tubercles distinctly enlarged to form a single row. Dorsal crest does not reach tail; tubercles strongly differentiated to form a very distinct pattern. Tail is usually less than head-and-body length in males and females, slender and without a distinct tip region. There are 13-25 gular lobes and 10-20 dorsal crest tubercles.

Size: Largest male has head and body length 67mm and tail length 63mm; largest female has head and body length 72mm and tail length 55mm.

Color: The overall color is light grayish brown with an irregular light orange lateral streak with three darker orange blotches, the surfaces immediately above and below vermiculated with grey-green. There is gray-green barring on the tail and speckling on the head and limbs. Some enlarged scales on lower sides pale orange. Colors brighter when basking. Interstitial skin of gular region is bluish-white and lateral grooves are blue.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous, litters recorded in November (Haagner & Els, 1986), December (Haagner, 1989) and April (Bruton & Haacke, 1980). Litter sizes of 8 - 9 recorded with a neonate total length range of from 37.0 mm to 41.5 mm and a mean length of 39,74 mm (Haagner, 1989).

Field notes: Found in undergrowth in disturbed dune forest at St Lucia. Observed high in tall tree at Monzi (G Setaro, personal communication). Found in roadside vegetation adjacent to swamp forest and reed-beds, as well as in a reed-bed at Richards Bay. Found on tall grass stems along a small stream at Arboretum, Richards Bay (Haagner, 1989). Haagner records that they could not be found in coastal thicket on the seaward side of the dunes nor were they found on evergreen shrubs adjacent to the Arboretum collection site.

Distribution: Occurs from the vicinity of Richards Bay in the south to at least 10 kilometers north of Lake Sibayi in the north. Possibly extends northwards into southern Mozambique.

Recorded localities: Cape Vidal; Dukuduku Forest, 3 km west of St Lucia bridge; Futululu Research Station; 10Km North Lake Sibayi; Lake St Lucia; Mapelane; Mtubatuba; Richards Bay; Richards Bay, Arboretum; 4.3Km South Sibayi Research Station; Sodwana Bay Nature Reserve; St Lucia Estuary.

Sight Records: Haagner (1989) records the following sightings - Perrier's Rocks, Tewate, Mission Rocks, 21 km north of Richards Bay, Monzi, Lake Bangasi North and Cape St Lucia.

Etymology: The specific name honors Mr. Gordon Setaro, an enthusiastic field collector of southern African herpetofauna.

Husbandry: This species is not available in the trade but has been successfully kept and bred in semi-natural conditions in South Africa. It appears to be a delicate species unlikely to survive commercial shipping.