Panaspis cabindae (Bocage, 1866)

Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Heinicke, Matthew P., Parker, Kelly L., Marques, Mariana P. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2020, A review of the African snake-eyed skinks (Scincidae: Panaspis) from Angola, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4747 (1), pp. 77-112 : 90-93

Panaspis cabindae (Bocage, 1866)

( Fig. 7–10 )

Chresonymy (includes only citations unambiguously pertaining to specimens referable to the species, or explicitly stating or depicting its geographic range).

Ablepharus cabindae ( Bocage 1866a: 64, 1895: 51; Peters 1877: 614; Boulenger 1887: 352; Ferreira 1904: 116; Parker 1936: 136)

Ablepharus Cabindae ( Bocage 1866b: 45, 1867: 224, 1887: 179, 1897: 196)

Ablepharus aeneus ( Boulenger 1887: 352)

Riopa (Panaspis) cabindae ( Smith 1937: 229)

Panaspis cabindae ( Greer 1974: 29; Perret 1975: 8; Schmitz et al. 2005: 23; Ceríaco et al. 2016a: 57; 2016b: 65; Medina et al. 2016: 411; Ceríaco et al. 2018a: 141; Ceríaco et al. 2018c: 423; Marques et al. 2018: 247; Branch et al. 2019a: 317)

This species was described by Bocage (1866) based on three specimens collected by the Portuguese explorer José Alberto de Oliveira de Anchieta (1832–1897) in the Cabinda enclave, northwestern Angola. Cope (1868) described a new genus and species Panaspis aeneus . The description of this species was problematic as Cope was unable to provide a specific type locality (according to the original description Habitat. Probably Swan River, Australia; possibly from South-Western Africa.), and the holotype is currently lost. The usage of the nomen aeneus was short-lived, as the only other reference to aeneus as a valid species was that of Boulenger (1887), when referring to specimens from Angola. The two specimens labelled as aeneus by Boulenger (1887) were collected by the London-born Portuguese colonial officer Joaquim John Monteiro (1833–1878) in the Luanda region. These specimens are still extant in the collections of the BMNH under the accession number 1873.7.28.11 and are unambiguously conspecific with P. cabindae .

In his scholarly revision of the herpetofauna of Angola, Bocage (1895) was the first to synonymize aeneus with cabindae , a decision then followed by all subsequent authors (e.g. Fuhn 1972; Perret 1975). In the same work Bocage (1895) provided the first illustration of the species, including detailed views of the head scalation ( Fig. 7 ). Despite the unavailability of aeneus type material, the original description provides enough morphological data to confidently confirm that it is conspecific with cabindae , namely the presence of supranasals, pre-ablepharine eye and frontoparietals separated, diagnostic features of cabindae (see below). Due to this lack of ambiguity, a neotype designation for aeneus is not needed. The same holds true for cabindae itself, as the original type series was destroyed in the fire that engulfed the zoological collections of Museu Bocage, Lisbon, in 1978.

The most recent data on the species was provided by Medina et al. (2016) who confirmed, through molecular data, that the species extended from southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo to southwestern Angola; our sequence data here further fills in the Angolan distribution of the species. Other recent published records include those from Cangandala National Park, Malanje Province, Central Angola reported by Ceríaco et al. (2016b) and Ceríaco et al. (2018c). Marques et al. (2018) presented and mapped all available records of the species for Angola. Despite being a quite common species in Angola (LMPC pers. obs.), not much has been published about the distriution, natural history, ecology or conservation status of this species.

Diagnosis. Panaspis cabindae can be distinguished from other members of the genus occurring inAngola and surroundingsregionbyhaving1)presenceofsupranasals;2)pre-ablepharineeye(asdefinedbyGreer1974);3)frontoparietalsseparated;dorsumcoppery-brown,withfourveryvaguelongitudinalstripesextendingapproximatelytomidbody, and a thin darker band starting on the temporals and extending to midbody; 5) absence of rows of light spots on the neck; 6) absence of a white ventrolateral stripe; 7) 23 to 26 midbody scales rows ( Figs. 8–9 ).

Specimens examined. ANGOLA: Cabinda Province: Chinchoxo [-5.1º, 12.1º, 45 m] ( ZMB 9168 , 9276 ) ; Zaire Province: Soyo [-6.134903º, 12.368935º, 10 m] ( PEM 20256 –20260 ) ; Uíge Province: Kimpa Vita University Campus [-7.618614º, 15.065536º, 1122 m] ( MTD 48612) ; Luanda Province: Luanda [-8.83333º, 13.26667º, 81 m] ( NHM 1951.1.1.94), Cabiri [-8.91667º, 13.66667º, 30 m] ( AMB 10881, 10883 ) , Kissama National Park [-9.18303°, 13.37063°, 136 m] ( FLMNH 187235–241 ) ; Bengo Province: Catete [-9.11667º, 13.7º, 21 m] ( MHN- CUP 017380 ) , Riverine Forest [-9.11667º, 13.7º, 21 m] PEM R 21594 ; Benguela Province: Lobito Bay [-12.35º, 13.55º, 7 m] ( AMNH R-48501), Hanha [-13.3º, 14.2º, 953 m] ( AMNH R-40671, 48502, 48504, 40718) ; Malanje Province: Duque de Bragança / Kalandula [-9.1º, 15.95º, 1011 m] ( ZMB 7775 , CAS 263590 ) , Cangandala National Park [-9.84606º, 16.72233º, 1111 m] ( CAS 258403–407 ) ; Laúca [-9.762749º, 15.143798º, 750 m] ( ANG 40-41 , AMB 9190 , 9209 , 9214 , 9230 , 9250 , 9251 , 9254 , 9255 , 9256 , 9257 , 9258 , 9259 , 9260 , 9261 , 9262 , 9676 , 9677 , 9678 , 9685 , 9686 ) ; Lunda Norte Province: Lagoa Carumbo [-7.74422º, 19.95467º, 789 m] ( PEM R 19467) ; Kwanza-Norte Province: Lucalla [-9.4º, 15.03333º, 411 m] ( MHNCUP 017381 ) ; N’Dallatando [-9.3º, 14.91667º, 782 m] ( NHM 1909.10.29.103) ; Kwanza-Sul Province: Congulu [-10.86667º, 14.28333º, 639 m] ( NHM 1936.8.1.622–624, MCZ R- 112222) ; Bié Province: Cassumbe [-11.08615º, 16.66619º, 1235 m] ( AMB 11696, 11717 , 11753 , 11788 ) ; Chitau [-11.43333º, 17.15º, 1510 m] ( FMNH 74295 ) ; Namibe Provice: Mamué Riparian área [-13.80147º, 13.12056º, 660 m] (CAS 10315, AMB 10316, CAS 263554 , 10321 , CAS 263550 ) ; Capangombe [-15.1º, 13.15º, 553 m] ( MHNCUP 017379 , NHMW 10236 , CAS 264244 ) . REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Pointe-Noire [-4.762602º, 11.866835º, 33 m] ( MNHN 1966.554 ) . DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Bombo-Lumene Reserve Headquarters [-4.42218º, 16.04904º, 619 m] ( UTEP Herp-21173); Malela [-5.982438º, 12.621458º, 1 m] ( CAS 54820–821 ; MCZ R-11286, 14011–14012) .

Distribution. The species occurs in the southwestern region of Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, extending to all parts of northern Angolan and descending south to central and southwestern Angola through the Angolan escarpment ( Fig. 10 ).

Habitat and Natural History notes. The species is found in a wide variety of habitats, from some more coastal, Euphorbia and baobab dominated savannahs, in northwestern Angola, to typical Miombo woodland habitats ( Fig. 11 ) in the central plateau of Angola. The species appears to be absent from the more xeric and desertic areas of the southwest of Angola and northwestern Namibia, however it may possibly be found in more humid areas close to the escarpment. The species is active during the day in leaf-litter, but is rarely seen exposed.

Figures

FIGURE 7—Plate with the illustrations of Panaspis cabindae and Panaspis whalbergii from Bocage (1895) Herpetologie d’Angola et du Congo.Adapted from Bocage (1895).

FIGURE 8—Preserved specimen of Panaspis cabindae from Capangombe, Namibe Province, Angola (CAS 264244). Photo by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.

FIGURE 9—Live photos of P. cabindae from Capangombe, Namibe Province (above, CAS 264244) and near Cassumbe, Bié Province (below, AMB 11696). Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.

FIGURE 10—Distribution map of Panaspis cabindae in Angola and neighboring areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo.

FIGURE 11—Habitat of Panaspis cabindae. Above: Kalandula falls, Malanje Province. Below: River gallery near Cassumbe, Bié Province. Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco