Melanoseps Boulenger, 1897

Marques, Mariana P., Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Blackburn, David C. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2018, Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840 - 2017), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-501 : 245

Genus Melanoseps Boulenger, 1897

Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters, 1877) WESTERN LIMBLESS SKINK

Herpetosaura occidentalis Peters 1877b:416 . Holotype: ZMB 9122 . Type locality: Cameruns [= Cameroon].

Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters) : Laurent (1964a:81).

Melanoseps occidentalis zairensis : Brygoo and Roux-Estève (1981:1179).

Melanoseps occidentalis : Chirio and Ineich (2006:38), Chirio and LeBreton (2007:270), Trape et al. (2012:368).

Global conservation status (IUCN): Not

Evaluated.

Global distribution: The species is limit-

ed to Central Africa, from Gabon to Angola.

Ocurrences in Angola (Map 205): The species is only known from “Camaconde,

Dundo” in Lunda Norte Province. Lunda

Norte: “galerie forestière de la rivière Camaconde (affl. gauche de la Luachimo, Dundo)”

[-7.36667, 20.83333] ( Laurent 1964a:81; Brygoo and Roux-Estève 1981:1171).

Taxonomic and distributional notes:

Brygoo and Roux-Estève (1981) described a new subspecies, Melanoseps occidentalis zairensis , from the Democratic Republic of

Congo, distinguished from the nominotypical form by its ventral scale count (Chirio and Ineich 2006), although subsequent authors have MAP 205. Distribution of Melanoseps occidentalis in Angola.

treated the species as monotypic (Chirio and

LeBreton 2007; Trape et al. 2012).