Meroles anchietae ( Bocage, 1867 )

Santos, Bruna S., Marques, Mariana P., Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2021, Herpetological results of Francisco Newton’s Zoological Expedition to Angola (1903 – 1906): a taxonomic revision and new records of a forgotten collection, Zootaxa 5028 (1), pp. 1-80 : 20

Meroles anchietae ( Bocage, 1867)

Material (six specimens): Three adult and one juvenile specimens (MHNCUP/REP 219–222, formerly UP- MHNFCP-094996–094999; Fig. S32 ), collected from Mossamedes [=Moçâmedes] [-15.20000º, 12.15000º, 24 m a.s.l.] Namibe Province, in 1905 ; two adult specimens (MHNCUP/REP 223–224, formerly UP-MHNFCP-017366), collected from Porto Alexandre [=Tômbua] [-15.80401º, 11.84492º, 11 m a.s.l.] Namibe Province, in July 1904 .

Comments: Meroles anchietae is endemic to the Namib Desert ( Branch 1998; Marques et al. 2018). Ferreira never published the Newton Expedition specimens but identified the extant specimens as Pachyrhyncus anchietae , as noted by the extant labels. Marques et al. (2018) referenced specimens MHNCUP/REP 219–222 from “Mossamedes” when discussing the species’ taxonomy and distribution. Up until recently, M. anchietae in Angola was only known from its type locality “Rio Coroca, dans le littoral de Mossamedes”, but collections by Ceríaco et al. (2016a) showed that the species has a broader distribution range, even if confined to the Namib Desert regions. The species was recently collected by Luís M. P. Ceríaco and Mariana P. Marques in the same area where Newton collected the aforementioned specimens ( Fig. 7 ).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Life photo of Meroles anchietae, from Baía dos Tigres. Photo by Luis Ceríaco.

FIGURE S32. Specimen of Meroles anchietae (MHNCUP/REP 220), from Moçâmedes. Photo by Bruna Santos.