Lycophidion hellmichi Laurent, 1964

Marques, Mariana P., Parrinha, Diogo, Lopes-Lima, Manuel, Tiutenko, Arthur, Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2024, An island in a sea of sand: a first checklist of the herpetofauna of the Serra da Neve inselberg, southwestern Angola, ZooKeys 1201, pp. 167-217 : 167-217

Lycophidion hellmichi Laurent, 1964

Fig. 10 f

Records.

Mauué riparian area [- 13.8006, 13.1230, 706 m] ( CAS 263033); Catchi surroundings [- 13.7620, 13.2569, 1585 m] (MUNHAC / MB 03 - 001542, 001543).

Comments.

This recently collected material represents the first Angolan specimens of this species collected since its original description by Laurent (1964). The species appears to be endemic to southwestern Angola, from Benguela to Namibe Province and to northwestern Namibia. Our specimen from Serra da Neve was collected in the middle of its currently known distribution ( Marques et al. 2018). A specimen from northwestern Namibia was assigned to this species by Broadley (1991, 1996). A very similar species, L. namibianum Broadley, 1991 , which occurs in northwestern Namibia and southern Namibe Province ( Broadley 1991, 1996; Lobón-Rovira et al. 2022), is distinguished from L. hellmichi by the lack of contact of the post-nasal with the first labial (in contact in L. hellmichi ). Our specimens agree with the holotype in both coloration and the contact between post-nasal and first supralabial ( Laurent 1964). The specimens from Catchi are adult male and female collected while copulating.

Figures

Figure 10. a Python natalensis (skin) b Bitis (Macrocerastes) gabonica c Causus nasalis d Boaedon variegatus e Hemirhagerrhis viperina f Lycophidion hellmichi g Psammophis subtaeniatus. Photographs by LMPC (a, c, f); AT (d, e, g) and DP (b).