Monopeltis infuscata Broadley, 1997

Baptista, Ninda L., António, Telmo & Branch, William R., 2019, The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 203) 13 (2), pp. 96-130 : 112-113

Monopeltis infuscata Broadley, 1997

Infuscate Spade-snouted Worm Lizard ( Fig. 14) Material: One unlabelled and bleached specimen in Carmira Farm’s private collection.

Comment: Scalation features of the specimen (dorsal head shield with blind lateral sutures ( Fig. 14), four postgenials in the first row, more than seven postgenials in the second row, two precloacal pores, 204 body annuli, and 10 caudal annuli) match the description of M. infuscata ( Broadley 1997) . In Angola, the species was recorded in Humbe in Cunene Province, Tombole River in Cuando-Cubango Province, and a locality named “Sturuba” ( Broadley 1997) which could not be determined. This is the third confirmed locality for the species in the country and the first for Huíla Province, and additional voucher specimens and genetic material should be collected. Found among sandy soils in Baikea/ Burkea woodlands, Monopeltis anchietae and M. infuscata are known to be sympatric in Humbe ( Broadley 1997), approximately 110 km south of BNP, supporting their co-occurrence in Carmira Farm.

al. 2019). Broadley and Broadley (1997) recognized five groups within Z. quadrifrons . Additional voucher specimens and genetic material are necessary to confirm species identification, and to evaluate the validity of Monard’s taxon “ ambuellensis ” for Angolan material ( Branch et al. 2019c). Found in the same habitat as M. infuscata .