Dalophia ellenbergeri (Angel, 1920)

Conradie, Werner, Keates, Chad, Verburgt, Luke, Baptista, Ninda L., Harvey, James, Júlio, Timóteo & Neef, Götz, 2022, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi River drainages. Part 2: Lizards (Sauria), chelonians, and crocodiles, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 322) 16 (2), pp. 181-214 : 189

Dalophia ellenbergeri (Angel, 1920)

Ellenberger’s Worm Lizard ( Fig. 6 , Map 5)

Material (4 specimens): PEM R 23408, Lungwebungu River camp bridge crossing, -12.58346° 18.66598°, 1,304 m asl; PEM R 23492, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.09442° 18.89372°, 1,396 m asl; PEM R 24002, 5 km west of Cuemba, -12.14751° 18.11650°, 1,329 m asl; PEM R 27392, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52745° 19.2806°, 1,241 m asl. Description: All specimens exhibit the diagnostic ‘herringbone’ scale arrangement on the dorsal side of the tail; 16–21 dorsal segments per body annulus; 12–14 ventral segments per body annulus; 309–319 body annuli; 29–43 caudal annuli; caudal autonomy site at the 8 th caudal annulus; 3–4 supralabials; 3 infralabials. Largest specimen: 336.0 + 76.0 mm ( PEM R 27392). Habitat and natural history notes: All specimens were excavated from sandy soils, except for one individual that was found on the surface after heavy rain and another which was found taking refuge under a tree log. Comments: Angola has one of the richest assemblages of amphisbaenians in Africa, represented by three genera and 11 species ( Marques et al. 2018). The taxonomy of Angolan amphisbaenians has a turbid history, and many of the species have not been evaluated in a phylogenetic framework. The only phylogenetic study on African amphisbaenians incorporated only one Angolan sample ( Measey and Tolley 2013). Dalophia ellenbergeri was first reported from Angola by Branch and McCartney (1992) under the name D. pistillum and later re-identified as D. ellenbergeri ( Broadley 1997) . This is only the second time this species has been recorded from Angola and it is now documented from four additional localities. Elsewhere it is only recorded from western Zambia ( Broadley 1971; Pietersen et al. 2021).

Figures

Fig. 6. Adult Dalophia ellenbergeri (PEM R23408) from Lungwebungu River. Photo by Werner Conradie.