Adolfus, STERNFELD, 1912
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00732.x |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D0768782-3E23-FFCE-F6DE-FC29DC1AFD89 |
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treatment provided by |
Valdenar |
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scientific name |
Adolfus |
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Type species: Adolfus africanus ( Sternfeld, 1912 ‘1913’) [= Adolfus fridericianus Sternfeld 1912 ‘1913’; Adolphs (2006) noted Sternfeld’s chapter was published in 1912 before the complete work in 1913.].
Synonymy
1. Algiroides Duméril & Bibron, 1839 (part); Boulenger, 1906. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1906:570 [ Algiroides africanus ]; Barbour, 1914. Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club, Boston 4:97 [ Algiroides alleni ].
2. Lacerta Linnaeus, 1758 (part); Boulenger, 1899. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1899:96 [ Lacerta jacksoni ]; Lönnberg in Sjöstedt, 1907 ‘1910’. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Swedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 4:5 [ Lacerta jacksoni kibonotensis ]; Boulenger 1920. Monograph of the Lacertidae . Vol. 1:295 [ Lacerta jacksonii ].
Content: Adolfus africanus ( Boulenger, 1906) ; A. alleni ( Barbour, 1914) ; A. jacksoni ( Boulenger, 1899) .
Distribution: Western Cameroon east to southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and south to north-western Zambia ( Köhler et al., 2003), with
DRC, Democratic Republic of the Congo; NP, National Park.
When more than one sample was sequenced for a given species, specific locality information is provided for the sample included in this table. Snout–vent length ( SVL)/tail length ( TL) given as percentage data. Data are from this study, Arnold (1989b), Kroniger & in den Bosch (2001), Schmidt (1919), and Spawls et al. (2002). + = present, - = absent. — = data not available.
isolated montane populations in the Aberdare Mountains, Mt Kenya, and Mt Elgon ( Spawls et al., 2002).
Diagnosis: Several mensural, meristic, and qualitative characters that diagnose Adolfus are shown in Tables 3–5, including: relatively large SVL (55– 84 mm); dorsoanterior border of quadrate bone rounded; size of long free ribs immediately posterior to thoracic ribs moderately enlarged; posterior border of medial loop of clavicle present and slender; small postfemoral mite pockets absent (except in A. jacksoni ); intramuscular portion of hemipenial armature not deeply cleft; shape of hemipenial clavulae simple; female genital sinus unlobed; habitat in forest, forest clearings and grasslands; clutch size three to five; and ventral coloration yellow, blue, orange, or green.
Description
Size and proportions: Relatively large member of the Equatorial African group of lizards (55–84 mm SVL), with no sexual dimorphism and a long tail ( SVL / TL = 49–60%; Tables 4, 5) that is cylindrical without lateral fringes.
Skull: Premaxilla without anterior boss; postfrontal and postorbital bones fused; shape of squamosal bone slender; squamosal and parietal not in contact; dorsoanterior border of quadrate bone rounded; temporal osteoderms absent (except in A. alleni , which is variable); maxilla not extending to coronoid notch; and 14 scleral ossicles in each eye ( Arnold, 1989a).
Postcranial skeleton: Average number of presacral vertebrae in males 26–27 (except A. africanus , which has 25 or fewer); seven to nine long free dorsal ribs immediately posterior to thoracic ribs (except A. africanus , which has six to seven); moderately elongated long free dorsal ribs immediately posterior to thoracic ribs; posterior border of medial loop of clavicle present and slender; and transverse process of anterior autotomic caudal vertebrae directed roughly laterally ( Arnold, 1989a).
Scaling: Contact between postnasal and supranasal scales below level of nostril absent; two loreal scales on each side (except A. alleni , which has one); supraciliary granules present (except A. alleni ); lower eyelid opaque and covered with relatively small scales; parietal scales without lateral corner erosion; temporal scaling relatively fine (except A. alleni , which is very coarse, with 13 or fewer scales on each side, excluding the supratemporals and tympanic); keeling on temporal scales absent ( A. alleni ), present ( A. africanus ) or variable ( A. jacksoni ); keeling on collar scales absent (except A. africanus , which is variable); granules beneath collar scattered or absent (except A. jacksoni , which has many); dorsal scales more or less uniform in size (except A. africanus , which has flank scales that are distinctly smaller than the mid-dorsals); micro-ornamentation of dorsal scales smooth (except for A. africanus , which has pustullate scales with minute tubercles); flank scales in close contact; six or eight longitudinal rows of ventral body scales (except A. africanus , which has four complete rows and an outer row on each side that is strongly reduced anteriorly); keeling on ventrals absent (except A. africanus , which has keeling on the outer longitudinal row); preanal scale entire and without keeling; no keeling on scales beneath limbs; row of femoral pores long, extending almost to knee (except A. africanus , which has a shortened row of femoral pores, well separated from the knee); scales bearing femoral pores not or only slightly projecting, close together in males; hind toes without fringes; no pad of spinous scales on dorsum of tail base ( Arnold, 1989a). In contrast to Arnold, we observed gular folds (as indicated by a heavy crease between the ear openings on the throat of adult animals) in A. jacksoni ; the character was noted as absent in A. alleni and A. jacksoni , and variable in A. africanus by Arnold (1989a).
Colouring: Adolfus africanus : the entire head is metallic copper bronze with a continuous mid-dorsal band of the same colour and width of the head continuing to the end of the tail. Within the mid-dorsal band are numerous randomly distributed black spots, usually beginning near the origin of the fore limbs and extending slightly beyond the base of the tail. A longitudinal series of white round spots border the mid-dorsal metallic band laterally; these coalesce into thin narrow stripes on the tail. The lateral sides of the body have dark brown bands originating on the side of the head and extending posteriorly onto the tail; some specimens have additional, diffuse rounded white spots aligned along the lower edge of the dark lateral band. Venter immaculate lime green. Adolfus alleni : ground colour brown or olive, with a broad or fine dark vertebral stripe. Two black-edged, limegreen or red-brown dorsolateral stripes extend from the posterior edge of the parietals to about the hind limb insertions, and may continue as brown lines onto the tail. The lateral sides of the body are rufous or light brown; the belly varies from orange or orangepink to blue. Adolfus jacksoni : brown to olive on the dorsum of the head, with a continuous mid-dorsal band of the same colour (occasionally light green) and width of the head continuing to the end of the tail. Within the band are randomly scattered black spots or oblique black dashes. The lateral sides of the body are much darker than the dorsum, usually brown but sometimes black, and usually contain several series of Data are averages ± one standard deviation, with ranges in parentheses. Abbreviations and measurements are explained in the Material and methods. Snout–vent length ( SVL)/tail length ( TL) given as percentage data; m, adult male; f, adult female; n, unknown gender. Data for A. alleni are taken from single individuals from Mt Elgon ( Uganda, 1 n) and the Aberdare Mountains ( Kenya, 1 m), which are probably not conspecific.
Data are averages ± one standard deviation, with ranges in parentheses. Abbreviations are explained in the Material and methods; m, male; f, female; n, unknown gender. Data for A. alleni are taken from single individuals from Mt Elgon ( Uganda, 1 n) and the Aberdare Mountains ( Kenya, 1 m), which are probably not conspecific.
white or blue, black-edged ocelli, the upper-most and most lateral of which are usually arranged in longitudinal rows and may comprise scattered blue and black scales. The venter is sometimes spotted but more frequently immaculate, and varies from yellow to dull blue ( Spawls et al., 2002), or bright orange in breeding males from Tanzania (W. R. B., pers. observ.). Poblete (2002) described a Kenyan specimen with an ‘army green’ dorsum with black, irregular medial dots and flanks with black lateral stripes that were spotted with a luminescent cyan colour.
Distinctive internal features: Tongue surface mainly squamate; tongue colour in alcohol dark; a continuous ulnar nerve present but connected to the brachial trunk by a bridge in the lower arm (except A. africanus , which has a variable ulnar nerve pattern); exit of oviducts into genital sinus dorsal; female genital sinus unlobed ( Arnold, 1989a).
Hemipenis: Size relatively large; intramuscular portion of hemipenial armature not deeply cleft; medial side of hemipenial armature not reduced; size of hemipenial clavulae large; shape of hemipenial clavulae simple ( Arnold, 1989a).
Ecology: Adolfus africanus is known from primary Guineo-Congolean forest (580–2200 m) and has been observed basking in dappled sunlight on fallen tree limbs, trunks and exposed roots within a few metres of ground clearings in forest (only a few were observed on tree trunks above 3 m from the ground), suggesting that this species is primarily an inhabitant of undergrowth ( Spawls et al., 2002; Köhler et al., 2003). It has been collected in highly disturbed forest in north-eastern DRC (E. G., C. K., & M. M. A., pers. observ.) and Kenya ( Köhler et al., 2003). Adolfus alleni is known from alpine moorland, heather and Hagenia –Hypericum zones from 2700–4500 m, and is more terrestrial than other members of the genus, living in tussock grass and open patches in between ( Spawls et al., 2002). Adolfus jacksoni is known from clearings, forest edges, gallery forest, and disturbed habitats, even occurring in the middle of the city of Bukavu ( DRC) on slopes that have been cleared of forest for centuries (E. G., C. K., & M. M. A., pers. observ., Schaller, 1964), and in suburban gardens in Arusha, Tanzania (W. R. B., pers. observ.). The species has been recorded from 450–3000 m ( Spawls et al., 2002).
Reproduction: No reproductive data are available for A. africanus or A. alleni , but A. jacksoni has been observed nesting communally in crevices on exposed vertical road cut walls, and lays clutches of three to five eggs ( Spawls et al., 2002). Goldberg (2009) confirmed the range of clutch size for A. jacksoni as three to five eggs (mean = 4.1 ± 0.90 standard deviation), noted reproductively active males and females at opposite ends of the year (February–March and September), and documented evidence of multiple clutches in females.
Remarks: Several morphological features (e.g. osteology, hemipenis) are shared with Gastropholis , but not other Equatorial African genera ( Table 3), lending support for the weakly supported placement of Gastropholis as sister to Adolfus in our phylogenetic analyses ( Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 ).
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Université Paul Sabatier |
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Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Chile |
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