Chondrodactylus Peters, 1870

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 : 179-182

Genus Chondrodactylus Peters, 1870

Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi ( Loveridge, 1947) BUTTON-SCALED THICK-TOED GECKO

Pachydactylus laevigatus tessellatus FitzSimons 1938:172 , fig. 6. Holotype: TM 17202 (collector V.F.M. FitzSimons). Type locality: “Kamanyab” [= Kamanjab, Kunene Region] Namibia.

Pachydactylus laevigatus fitzsimonsi Loveridge 1947:400 . Nomen substitutum (see Notes below).

Pachydactylus laevigatus : Schmidt (1933:5).

Pachydactylus laevigatus fitzsimonsi : Laurent (1964a:38).

Pachydactylus fitzsimonsi : Benyr (1995:50), Branch (1998:255).

Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi : Bauer and Lamb (2005:117), Ceríaco et al. (2016a:23, 54).

Global conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated.

Global distribution: The species is restricted to central and northern parts of western Namibia and adjacent Angola.

Ocurrences in Angola (Map 126): The species occurs in southwestern Angola, mainly in Namibe Province. Huíla: “Ongueria, 55 km

au S.S.E. de Sá da Bandeira ” [-15.30000,

13.51667] ( Laurent 1964a:38). Namibe :

“plage «das Conchas», près de Moçâmedes”

[-15.13333, 12.11667] ( Laurent 1964a:38;

Ceríaco et al. 2016b:54); “environs de Moçâmedes, au bord de lar oute de Sá da Bandeira”

( Laurent 1964a:38; Ceríaco et al. 2016a:54);

“ Espinheira” [-16.78731, 12.35817] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:23); “ Iona National Park , north of

Tambor” [-15.99636, 12.40667] (Ceríaco et al.

2016a:23); “Pico Azevedo” [-15.53400,

MAP 126. Distribution of Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi in 12.49197] ( Schmidt 1933:5).

Angola.

Taxonomic and distributional notes: The genus Chondrodactylus was previously considered a monotypic ( C. angulifer ) but Bauer and Lamb (2005) demonstrated that a clade of large-bodied geckos, the Pachydactylus bibronii group (Lamb and Bauer 2002), is sister to C. angulifer and moved these taxa into Chondrodactylus . Pachydactylus laevigatus fitzsimonsi Loveridge, 1947 replaced the name P. l. tessellatus FitzSimons, 1938 which was preoccupied by P. tessellatus ( Werner, 1910) , which is currently regarded as a synonym of Pachydactylus capensis (Smith, 1846) . Reference to Schmidt’s (1933) plate image of “ P. laevigatus ” reveals that his specimens were, in fact, C. fitzsimonsi . Although cited in the chresonymy, specific localities from the unpublished theses of Benyr (1995) and Heinz (2011) have not been listed above.

Chondrodactylus pulitzerae ( Schmidt, 1933) PULITZER’S THICK-TOED GECKO Pachydactylus bibronii pulitzerae Schmidt (1933:6 , pl. 1). Holotype: CM 5619 (collector R. and L. Boulton).

Type locality: “Pico Azevedo,” Namibe Province, Angola. Homodactylus Bibroni : Bocage (1867b:220, 1867c:227, 1895a:15). Pachydactylus bibronii : Boulenger (1885:201), Bocage (1895a:15, 1887b:202, 1887c:209), Mertens

(1926:152), Monard (1937b:53). Pachydactylus bibronii pulitzerae : Parker (1936:129), Mertens (1937a:7, 1938a:431), Barbour and Loveridge

(1946:164), Loveridge (1947:403), Hellmich (1957a:36, 1957b:49), Laurent (1964a:37), Marx (1959:466). Pachydactylus laevigatus laevigatus : Loveridge (1947:398; 1957:191). Pachydactylus bibronii turneri (part): Loveridge (1947:405). Pachydactylus laevigatus pulitzerae : Benyr (1995:50). Chondrodactylus pulitzerae : Heinz (2011:55), Ceríaco et al. (2014b:670), Ceríaco et al. (2016a:24, 54),

Heinicke et al. (2017:4), Ceríaco et al. (2017:42). Chondrodactylus cf. pulitzerae (part): Conradie et al. (2016:24).

Global conservation status ( IUCN): Not Evaluated.

Global distribution: The species is known from Angola and far northwestern Namibia.

Ocurrences in Angola (Map 127): The species occurs along the coast, mainly in the southern Angola (Fig 135). Luanda: "campus of the Universidade Metodista de Angola, in

Caop Velha, Cacuaco Municipality

[-8.78713889, 13.46361111] (Ceríaco et al.

2017:42);" “Loanda” [-8.83333, 13.26667]

( Bocage 1895a:15; Loveridge 1947:404).

Malanje: “Capanda” [-9.72841, 15.34585]

(Ceríaco et al. 2014b:670). Huambo: “ Huambo, zwischen den Füβen Catumbella und

Caporello , Benguela ” [-12.76667, 15.73333]

( Mertens 1926:152, 1937b:7; Loveridge

1947:404). Benguela: “ Morro de Pundo ”

[-12.38333, 13.88333] ( Parker 1936:

129; Loveridge 1947:404); “Catumbella”

[-12.43333, 13.55000] ( Bocage 1867b:

220; Loveridge 1947:404); “Quissange” MAP 127. Distribution of Chondrodactylus pulitzerae in Angola.

[-12.43333, 14.05000] ( Bocage 1887d:209;

Loveridge 1947:404); “ Benguela ” [-12.58333, 13.41667] ( Bocage 1867b:220, 1895a:15; Boulenger 1885:201; Parker 1936:129; Loveridge 1947:404); “Dombe” [-12.95000, 13.10000] ( Bocage 1867b:220; Loveridge 1947:404); “Entre Rios” [-13.01667, 14.63333] ( Hellmich 1957a:36); “Chivitidi” [-13.01667, 14.63333] ( Hellmich 1957a:36); “Cubal” [-13.03333, 14.25000] ( Mertens 1937a:7, 1938a:431; Loveridge 1947:404). Namibe: “Mossamedes” [-15.20000, 12.15000] ( Bocage 1867c:227, 1895a:15; Loveridge 1947:404; Laurent 1964a:37; Ceríaco et al. 2016a:54); “Pico Azevedo” [-15.55000, 12.51667] ( Schmidt 1933:5-6; Barbour and Loveridge 1946:164; Loveridge 1947:398, 404; Marx 1959:466; Ceríaco et al. 2016a:54); “ Rio Coroca” [-15.78333, 12.06667] ( Bocage 1887b:202; Loveridge 1947:404; Ceríaco et al. 2016a:54); “Iona National Park, 9.65 km (by air) west-south-west of Espinheira” [-16.81200, 12.27126] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:24); “Espinheira” [-16.78639, 12.35799] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:24); “Omauha Lodge” [-16.19861, 12.40087] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:24); “Iona National Park, Rio Curoca in Pediva Hot Springs area” [-16.28359, 12.56106] (Ceríaco et al. 2016b:24); “Namibe-Lubango road, road marker 59, 1.8 km west (by road) of Caraculo, on the north side of the road” [-15.01592, 12.64239] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:24); “Pico Azevedo” [-15.53400, 12.49197] (Ceríaco et al. 2016a:24).

Taxonomic and distributional notes: The genus Chondrodactylus was previously considered monotypic ( C. angulifer ) but Bauer and Lamb (2005) demonstrated that a clade of large-bodied geckos, the Pachydactylus bibronii group (Lamb and Bauer 2002), is sister to C. angulifer and moved these taxa into Chondrodactylus . Pachydactylus bibronii pulitzerae was originally described by Schmidt (1933) from “Pico Azevedo” in southern Angola and was long considered a synonym of P. bibronii (Smith, 1846) [= Chondrodactylus bibronii ] (Ceríaco et al. 2014a). Benyr (1995), in an unpublished thesis, clarified the distinction between the more temperate C. bibronii and a more tropical Chondrodactylus laevigatus (Fisher, 1888) / Chondrodactylus turneri ( Gray, 1864) lineage and treated C. pulitzerae as a subspecies of Chondrodactylus laevigatus (see also Lamb and Basuer 2002). Recently, Heinz (2011) demonstrated that Chondrodactylus pulitzerae is a distinct, species-level lineage, occurring in sympatry or at least parapatry with C. laevigatus in southern Angola and in extreme northern Namibia. Most records for this species are in the southwest of Angola in Benguela Province ( Schmidt 1933; Parker 1936; Monard 1937b; Mertens 1937a; Hellmich 1957a; Laurent 1964a), although Bocage (1895a) reported it to be common south of the Kwanza in general and cited two specimens from “Loanda” collected by Bayão in 1874. A recent record from Capanda Dam is a northward range extension of the species. It has also recently been recorded Cacuaco, Luanda Province (Ceríaco et al. 2017), suggesting that C. pulitzerae may be more widely distributed throughout the savanna biome of Angola (Ceríaco et al. 2014b). Although cited in the chresonymy, specific localities from the unpublished theses of Benyr (1995) and Heinz (2011) have not been listed above.

Chondrodactylus laevigatus ( Fischer, 1888) BUTTON-SCALED GECKO

Pachydactylus laevigatus ( Fischer 1888:15, pl. 2, fig. 3). Syntypes: ZMH (not located) (collector J. Stein-

gröver). Type locality: “bei Aus und auf dem Wege nach Bethanien,” [= Aus on the way to Bethanien,

Karas Region] Namibia. Pachydactylus stellatus : Schmidt (1933:5). Pachydactylus bibronii : Monard (1937b:53). Pachydactylus bibronii turneri (part): Loveridge (1947:405). Pachydactylus bibronii pulitzerae : Hellmich (1957b:49) Pachydactylus laevigatus laevigatus : Benyr (1995:7). Pachydactylus turneri (part): Branch (1998:254). Chondrodactylus turneri (part): Heinz (2011:30), Bates et al. (2014:104), Ceríaco et al. (2014b:670). Chondrodactylus cf. pulitzerae (part): Conradie et al. (2016:24).

Global conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated.

Global distribution: The species is known from the north of the Northern Cape Province, South Africa, throughout Namibia and into southern Angola and north and east as far as southern Kenya.

Ocurrences in Angola (Map 128): The species appears to occur in Cunene, Huíla, and

Cuando Cubango provinces, with a single questionable record fom southern Namibe

Province. Huíla: “Kampulu (près Kasinga)”

[-15.21667, 16.11667] ( Monard 1937b:53;

Loveridge 1947:407); “Mulondo” [-15.63333,

15.20000] ( Schmidt 1933:5; Loverige

1947:407-409); “Gambos” [-15.76667,

14.10000] ( Hellmich 1957b:49). Cunene :

“Humbi” [-16.68333, 14.90000] ( Monard

1937b:53; Loveridge 1947:407); “Mupanda”

[-17.13333, 15.76667] ( Monard 1937b:53;

Loveridge 1947:407). Cuando Cubango:

“ Cuito basin (30a)” [-17.50875, 20.06594]

( Conradie et al. 2016:9); “Cuito basin (62)” [-

17.50875, 20.06608] ( Conradie et al. 2016:9).

Taxonomic and distributional notes: MAP 128. Distribution of Chondrodactylus laevigatus in Angola.

The genus Chondrodactylus was previously considered a monotypic ( C. angulifer ) but Bauer and Lamb (2005) demonstrated that a clade of large-bodied geckos, the Pachydactylus bibronii group (Lamb and Bauer 2002), is sister to C. angulifer and moved these taxa into Chondrodactylus . Benyr (1995) clarified the distinction between the more temperate Chondrodactylus bibronii (Smith, 1846) and a more northerly distributed Chondrodactylus l. laevigatus (Fisher 1888) and Chondrodactylus l. turneri ( Gray, 1864) . Branch (1998) subsequently used the name turneri as a senior synonym of laevigatus , correcting Benyr’s oversight of the former name’s priority (Lamb and Bauer 2002; Ceríaco et al. 2014b) when the two are treated as conspecific. Heinz (2011) demonstrated that C. turneri and C. laevigatus are deeply divergent from one another, but Heinicke et al. (2017) were the first to employ C. laevigatus as specifically valid subsequent to its transfer to Chondrodactylus . Schmidt (1933) reported P. stellatus [syn. Chondrodactylus laevigatus ] from Pico Azevedo (the type locality of P. pulitzerae ), but these specimens are referable to C. fitzsimonsi (see account above). Loveridge (1947) erroneously considered Monard’s (1937b) material of Pachydactylus bibronii from “Humbi,” “Kampulo,” and “Mupanda” representative of Chondrodactylus turneri , a species now not believed to occur in Angola. Although cited in the chresonymy, specific localities from the unpublished theses of Benyr (1995) and Heinz (2011) have not been listed above.