Gerrhosaurus skoogi (Andersson, 1916)

Ceríaco, L. M. P., De Sá, S., Bandeira, S., Valério, H., Stanley, E. L., Kuhn, A. L., Marques, M. P., Vindum, J. V., Blackburn, D. C. & Bauer, A. M., 2016, Herpetological Survey of Iona National Park and Namibe Regional Natural Park, with a Synoptic List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Namibe Province, Southwestern Angola, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (2), pp. 15-61 : 39

DESERT PLATED LIZARD – Fig. 17

Gerrhosaurus skoogi (Andersson, 1916)

MATERIAL.— Praia do Navio coastal dunes, ca 124 km SSW of Namibe, 8 December 2013, 16º16ʹ20.4ʺS, 11º49ʹ53.9ʺE, 8 m ( CAS 254772 ) , 16º16ʹ29.1ʺS, 11º49ʹ50.0ʺE, 8 m ( CAS 254774 ) , 16º16ʹ42.1ʺS, 11º49ʹ21.7ʺE, 8 m ( CAS 254777 ) .

COMMENTS.— This species was encountered basking at the sun in the coastal dunes SSW of Namibe, especially in dune valleys areas. When approached, these lizards dive into the sand, disappearing rapidly. The species is easily identified by its unique morphology and peculiar ecology. Sand trails resulting from the specimens walking in the dunes were noted. A total of five specimens were collected, three of which are at CAS and two at INBAC. Several additional animals were observed in the area but not collected. Males have a distinct black throat and venter, and are considerably larger than the females. The only published Angolan records are from the type locality, Porto Alexandre, between Mossamedes and the mouth of the Cunene River (Andersson 1916; Fitzsimons 1953), approximately in the same area as our material. Although the species is the most distinctive of all Gerrhosaurus (Nance 2007) , it is unambiguously nested among more typical taxa, implying its unique features are relatively recently derived autapomorphies (Lamb et al. 2003; Lamb and Bauer 2013).

Figures

FIGURE 17. Adult female Desert Plated Lizard, Gerrhosaurus skoogi Andersson, 1916, from the coastal dunes, near Praia do Navio. Photo by Arianna Kuhn