Trachylepis mekuana (Chirio and Ineich, 2000)

Ineich, Ivan, LeBreton, Matthew, Lhermitte-Vallarino, Nathaly, Abstract. - The, Laurent Chirio, Oku, Mount & Highlands, Bamenda, 2015, The reptiles of the summits of Mont Oku and the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon *, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 108) 9 (2), pp. 15-38 : 25-26

Trachylepis mekuana (Chirio and Ineich, 2000) (six specimens)

Material: MNHN-RA 2001.0109 ( Bamboutos , Mt. Mekua, 5.688°N and 10.095°E, elev. 2,700 m, coll. CamHerp, April 19, 2000) – MNHN-RA 2002.0922 ( Bali Ngemba village , on rocks above the valley, 5.830°N and 10.066°E, elev. 1,640 m, coll. CamHerp M. LeBreton, July 8, 2002) – MNHN-RA 2005.1289-1291 (three specimens, Bamboutos , slopes of Mt. Mekua, 5.698°N and 10.086°E, elev. 2,600 m, coll. CamHerp, March 19, 2002) – MNHN-RA 2005.2606 ( Bamboutos , 5.637°N and 10.106°E, elev. 2,450 m, coll. CamHerp L. Chirio, March 30, 2000) .

This endemic mountain lizard of the BH in Cameroon occupies only the top of Bamboutos Mountains (Mt. Mekua) and the Massif of Bali-Ngemba at elevations located between 2,400 and 2,700 m ( Fig. 18 ). The increasing use of its habitat for grazing and planting food crops seriously threatens the survival of this species. Its classification on deciduous forests, forest-savanna mosaics (moist savanna), the Western Highlands, and the extreme south of the Adamaoua. It is found in altitude from 500 m to 2,000 m at Tabenken. This snake was mentioned in Wum (elev. 1,023 m) by Böhme (1975). In East Africa, the species is reported from 600 m to 2,000 m above sea level ( Spawls et al. 2002; Largen and Spawls 2010).

the IUCN Red List and habitat conservation measures should be a priority.

Figures

Fig. 18. Trachylepis mekuana. Mt. Mekua, Bamboutos. March 18, 2002.Picture: L. Chirio.