Sepsina angolensis (Bocage, 1866)

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 : 201

Sepsina angolensis (Bocage, 1866)

Angola Reduced-limb Skink ( Fig. 29 , Map 26) Material (20 specimens): PEM R23264, Cuchi River gorge, -14.59° 16.90758°, 1,350 m asl; PEM R23316, Cuanavale River, trap 4 active search, -13.05071° 18.89843°, 1,419 m asl; PEM R23332–3, Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,435 m asl; PEM R23460, Quembo River source, trap 5, -13.13586° 19.04709°, 1,368 m asl; PEM R23498–9, INBAC: WC4571, Cuanavale source lake, -13.08934° 18.89485°, 1,396 m asl; PEM R23515, Quembo River source, trap 3, -13.13072° 19.03724°, 1,443 m asl; PEM R23972, Lungwebungu River campsite, ad hoc, -12.58862° 18.66827°, 1,309 m asl; PEM R23978 (iNaturalist 12373403), Lungwebungu River, trap 2, -12.58199° 18.66562°, 1,208 m asl; PEM R27412, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52816° 19.28067°, 1,240 m asl; PEM R27413,INBAC: WC-6792, Quembo River bridge camp, trap 3, -13.52778° 19.27455°, 1,256 m asl; PEM R27414, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52745° 19.2806°, 1,241 m asl; PEM R27415, left side tributary (Condinde River) at Cuando River bridge, -13.60076° 19.52675°, 1,219 m asl; PEM R27416, Camp at side tributary (Luandai River) of the Luanguinga River, -13.708854° 21.262343°, 1,116 m asl; PEM R27417, lower Quembo River bridge camp, trap 4, -13.52658° 19.27810°, 1,248 m asl; PEM R27418–9, Luvu River camp, -13.71200° 21.83538°, 1,082 m asl. Description: Smooth dorsal scales; 24–25 (24) midbody scale rows; 90–98 (95) transverse ventral scale rows; 89–97 (93) transverse dorsal scale rows; 5–6 supralabials; 6–7 infralabials; 5 supraciliaries; reduced limbs with three clawed toes per limb. Largest female: 84.6 + 56.0 mm (PEM R27413); largest male: 71.0 + 54.0 mm (PEM R23515). Habitat and natural history notes: Tracks of these fossorial species can be seen in the early mornings on sandy soil. Most specimens were either caught in traps or by raking through leaf litter. Some specimens were collected under tree logs. Comment: This species is known from Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and DRC ( Branch 1998; Marques et al. 2018; Pietersen et al. 2021). These records fill the gap within the known distribution in Angola and western Zambia ( Broadley 1971; Pietersen et al. 2021).

Figures

Fig. 29. Adult unsexed Sepsina angolensis (PEM R23498) from Cuanavale River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.