Trachylepis cf. punctulata (Bocage, 1872)

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 : 203

Trachylepis cf. punctulata (Bocage, 1872)

Speckled Sand Skink ( Fig. 33 , Map 30)

Material (18 specimens): PEM R 23255, Cacundu falls, -13.7739° 18.7552°, 1,281 m asl; PEM R 23371, Cuanavale River source, -14.85472° 19.28639°; PEM R 23372, Cuanavale River, -13.99475° 19.14919°; PEM R 23425–6, Cuando River source, -13.00345° 19.12751°, 1,343 m asl; PEM R 23461–2, Quembo River, trap 4, -13.13586° 19.04709°, 1,368 m asl; PEM R 23504, Sombanana village river, -12.3071° 18.6235°, 1,408 m asl; PEM R 23550–2, Quembo River source camp, -13.14557° 19.04571°; PEM R 23981–2, Lungwebungu River trap 3, -12.58056° 18.66419°, 1,302 m asl; PEM R 27438–40, WC-6769, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; WC-6942, Lake Hundo, -14.974308° 21.629657°, 1,100 m asl. Description: Dorsal scales with five keels each; scales under toes spinose; 31–35 (33) midbody scale rows; 45–55 (51) transverse ventral scale rows; 40–50 (45) transverse dorsal scale rows; 5–6 supralabials; 6 infralabials; 4–5 supraciliaries; 16–22 (19) subdigital lamellae under 4 th toe. Largest specimen: 46.0 + 45 mm ( PEM R 23255). Habitat and natural history notes: A small skink that was often found moving around on the sandier regions, in close proximity to water sources. Comment: Most of the Angolan distribution is centred around the arid south-western regions of the country ( Marques et al. 2018). Our records are the first from eastern Angola, forming a link with the records from western Zambia and the Zambezi Region of Namibia ( Broadley 1971, 1975; Pietersen et al. 2017, 2021). The taxonomic status of this Kalahari Basin population requires further investigation.

Figures

Fig. 33.Adult unsexed Trachylepis cf.punctulata from Quembo River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.