Agama sp. 4

Ineich, Ivan, LeBreton, Matthew, Lhermitte-Vallarino, Nathaly, Abstract. - The, Laurent Chirio, Oku, Mount & Highlands, Bamenda, 2015, The reptiles of the summits of Mont Oku and the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon *, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 108) 9 (2), pp. 15-38 : 18

Agama sp. 4 (in: Chirio and LeBreton 2007) (Nine specimens)

Material: MNHN-RA 1998.0277-0285 (Nine specimens, Mt. Oku , five km north of Oku village, on rocky outcrops, elev. 2,200 m, coll. L. Chirio, June 25, 1998) .

This endemic species of Cameroon, identified by Chirio and LeBreton (2007: 172–173), is still not described; it is only known from two mountain stations. It is a large agama living mainly on the rocky outcrops of altitude savannas. It occurs only between 1,900 and 2,000 m above sea level like at the localities of Fungoï and Tabenken .

Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825

It is only recently that the molecular work of Tilbury and Tolley (2009) demonstrated that the two subgenera of the genus Chamaeleo auct., Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768 sensu stricto, and Trioceros Swainson, 1839 should be considered as two valid genera. Other studies have subsequently confirmed this ( Tolley et al. 2013). Cameroon has great species richness of chameleons (14 species) compared to its neighboring countries. This diversity is mainly located in mountainous areas and is characterized by a high level of endemism. The family is represented by three genera: Chamaeleo (five species), Rhampholeon Günther, 1874 (at least one species), and Trioceros (eight species and three subspecies; Barej et al. 2010). Within Trioceros , the most common to occur at elevation include Trioceros oweni , the most basal taxon of the genus in Cameroon, T. camerunensis , T. cristatus , T. montium , T. perreti , T. wiedersheimi , T. serratus , T. quadricornis eisentrauti , T. q. quadricornis , and T. q. gracilior. The genus Rhampholeon occurs over 1,700 m in Mt. Cameroun but it is curiously absent in the BH. Six species are very clear mountain endemics occupying restricted areas in the Cameroon Volcanic Dorsal mountain ridge. Half of Cameroon chamaeleons are mountain endemics with restricted ranges. A molecular phylogeny of the genus Trioceros in Cameroon was established by Pook and Wild (1997) and completed by Barej et al. (2010). Three altitudinal groups in Cameroon can be recognized within the genus Trioceros : a plains group ( Trioceros oweni ), a plains and submontane group ( Trioceros camerunensis , T. cristatus , and T. montium ), and a submontane and mountain group ( Trioceros pfefferi , T. perreti , T. serratus , T. wiedersheimi , and T. quadricornis ). Only species of the last group are present in our study area.