Panaspis wahlbergi ( Smith, 1849 )

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 : 98-101

Panaspis wahlbergi ( Smith, 1849)

( Fig. 7 , 13–15 )

Ablepharus Wahlbergii ( Bocage 1895: 52)

Ablepharus wahlbergii ( Boulenger 1905: 111 ; Loveridge 1957: 219)

Afroablepharus wahlbergi ( FitzSimons 1937: 269 ; Greer 1974: 32; Perret 1975: 8; Schmitz et al. 2005: 19; Bates et al. 2014: 257)

Panaspis wahlbergi ( Branch 1998: 159 ; Jacobsen & Broadley 2000: 63; Branch & Conradie 2015: 200; Medina et al. 2016: 410; Branch et al. 2019a: 296)

Panaspis aff. wahlbergi ( Marques et al. 2018: 249 ; Branch et al. 2019a: 318)

Panaspis sp. ( Baptista et al. 2018: 400)

Panaspis aff. namibiana ( Butler et al. 2019: 233)

P. wahlbergi was originally described as Cryptoblepharus wahlbergi by Smith (1849) based on specimens from the “Country to the eastward of the Cape Colony,” later restricted to KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, by FitzSimons (1937). Similar to all other members of the genus, the species has a complex taxonomic history, especially regarding its genetic allocation (for a review of its taxonomic and nomenclatural history see Schmitz et al. 2005 and Medina et al. 2016). The first records of this species for Angola were provided by Bocage (1895), who noted specimens collected by J.A.O. de Anchieta from Cahata and Caconda, in the higher elevation areas of Benguela and Huíla provinces, respectively. As he had done with P. cabindae, Bocage (1895) provided a detailed illustration of Angolan P. wahlbergi ( Fig. 7 ). Boulenger (1905) referred to this species specimens collected “between Benguella and Bihé” [between what it is currently understood as Benguela and Bié provinces] by the British explorer William John Ansorge (1850–1913). These are the only published records of the species for Angola, although some other specimens assignable to the species were collected in the country during the twentieth century and deposited in the collections of Portuguese (IICT), North American (CAS, FMNH) and South African (TM) museums. More recently the species has been relocated in the country. Baptista et al. (2018) reported the presence of Panaspis sp. in theTundavala area. Butler et al. (2019) reported one specimen from Bicuar National Park, which they mistakenly labeled as P. aff. namibiana . Other specimens were recently collected by the authors LMPC and MPM in southeastern Bié Province.

Both Marques et al. (2018) and Branch et al. (2019) referred to the central Angolan populations of P. wahlbergi as P. aff. wahlbergi , suggesting doubts about its conspecificity with the nominotypical form, and even suggesting that the Angolan population may represent a different taxon ( Branch et al. 2019a). However, contrary to what Medina et al. (2016) demonstrated for the eastern African populations, where a high level of cryptic diversity exists, and to the suspicions of Marques et al. (2018) and Branch et al. (2019), our results unambiguously place the central Angolan population as conspecific with nominotypic wahlbergi . The presence in the country of additional undescribed wahlbergi -like lineages cannot be excluded, as Bittencourt-Silva (2019) recently reported the presence of one of these lineages (“ Panaspis sp. Katanga 2” sensu Medina et al. 2016) in northwestern Zambia, not far from the Angolan border. Specimens from Calombe-Luso, Moxico Province, (IICT 268–1959 and 276–1959) could potentially belong to this lineage as well. Further sampling in the eastern regions of the country is needed to address this possibility.

Diagnosis. Panaspis wahlbergi can be distinguished from other members of the genus occurring in Angola by the following combination of characteristics: 1) absence of supranasals; 2) ablepharine eye (as defined by Greer 1974); 3) frontoparietals fused; 4) dorsum coppery-brown, with a broad black lateral band; 5) absence of rows of light spots on the neck; 6) usually a presence of a white ventrolateral stripe, from supralabials to the groin; 7) 24 to 26 midbody scales rows ( Figs. 13–14 ).

Specimens examined. ANGOLA: Benguela Province: Cubal [-13.03333º, 14.25, 922 m] ( TM 39762 ) ; Kwanza-Sul Province: 10 miles SE of Quirimbo [-10.83998º, 14.308124º, 851 m] ( CAS 85966) ; Bié Province: near Mumbué [-13.85417º, 17.47044º, 1631 m] ( AMB 11675–11676 ) ; Chitau [-11.43333º, 17.15º, 1510 m] ( FMNH 74295 , AMNH 48505 ) ; Huíla Province: Caconda [-13.73333º, 15.06667º, 1675 m] ( NHM 1906.8.24.72); 19 miles NE of Lubango [-14.78503º, 13.730408º, 1691 m] ( CAS 85956) ; Lubango [-14.916667º, 13.5º, 1760 m] ( FMNH 74295 ) ; Bicuar National Park [-15.1034º, 14.8311º, 1243 m] ( CAS 263401 ) .

Distribution. Medina et al. (2016) restricted to Mozambique and northeastern South Africa, but we here extend that distribution into south-central Angola. Historical records from Zimbabwe and Zambia might also represent true wahlbergi , potentially connecting the Angolan population to those of Mozambique and South Africa. However, this distribution requires further assessment, as other cryptic lineages may also be present, as evidenced by the recent discovery in northwestern Zambia of one of the Katangan cryptic lineages of wahlbergi by Bittencourt-Silva (2019). In Angola, P. wahlbergi is limited to the central and southern areas of the Angolan plateau, from Benguela Province to Bié ( Fig. 15 ), but is most likely that the species also occurs in the neighboring areas of Moxico and Cuando-Cubango provinces.

Habitat and Natural History notes. The species is found in Miombo Woodlands, usually under leaf-litter, under rocks, or moving through grass ( Fig. 16 ).

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 13—Preserved specimen of Panaspis whalbergii from Bicuar National Park, Huila Province,Angola (CAS 263401).Photo by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.

FIGURE 14—Live photos of P. whalbergii from Bicuar National Park, Huila Province (above, CAS 263401) and near Mumbué, Bié Province (below, AMB 11675). Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.

FIGURE 15—Distribution map of Panaspis wahlbergii in Angola.

FIGURE 16—Habitat of Panaspis wahlbergi. Above Bicuar National Park, Huíla Province. Below Mumbué, Bié Province. Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco