Lophyrus sumatranus Schlegel, 1851: 5

Dondorp, Esther & Denzer, Wolfgang, 2024, Annotated catalogue of acrodont lizard types in the collection of the Naturalis Biodiverstity Center (Squamata: Agamidae, Chamaeleonidae), Zootaxa 5403 (1), pp. 65-79 : 74-75

Lophyrus sumatranus Schlegel, 1851: 5

= Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus ( Laurenti, 1768)

Holotype (by monotypy): RMNH. RENA.3051, male, Sumatra, 1848

Type locality: Sumatra, Indonesia

Remarks: Schlegel (1851) did not indicate how many specimens he had to hand and the only measurement he gave was a total length of 17 pouces (1 pouce approx. 25 mm in 1851). This agrees well with the size of RMNH.

RENA.3051 (430 mm). There exists another specimen in the Naturalis collection that may constitute a syntype: RMNH.RENA.3055, male, Sumatra, coll. S. Müller 1826. However, the year of collection given in the handwritten catalogue does not coincide with Müller’s visit to Sumatra (1833–1835). As we could not ascertain the precise collection data for RMNH.RENA.3055 we currently consider RMNH.RENA.3051 as the holotype by monotypy. Barbour (1912) stated that „Schlegel’s G. [onocephalus] (Lophyrus) sumatranus should be added to the synonymy [of G. chamaeleontinus ]“ and the species has been treated as such ever since with one major exception, namely de Rooij (1915: 103). With regard to Sumatran populations currently considered to represent G. chamaeleontinus the name Gonocephalus sumatranus is available for nomenclatural purposes. The specimen depicted in Schlegel (1851, plate III) and the holotype exhibit morphological traits such as well a developed dorsal crest (not present in several other G. chamaeleontinus populations) that may warrant species status. Regarding the date of publication of Schlegel’s original description see comment under Lophyrus kuhlii .