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Adolfus africanus (BOULENGER, 1906)

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Higher TaxaLacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Multi-scaled Forest Lizard, Green-bellied Forest Lizard 
SynonymAlgiroides africanus BOULENGER 1906: 570
Adolfus fridericianus STERNFELD 1912: 220 (fide BAUER & GÜNTHER 1995)
Algiroides africanus — SCHMIDT 1919: 501
Algiroides africanus — BOULENGER 1920: 348
Algiroides africanus — WITTE & LAURENT 1942: 171
Algiroides africanus — LAURENT 1958: 117
Algyroides africanus – MERTENS 1968: 74
Adolfus africanus – ARNOLD 1973
Adolfus africanus – ARNOLD 1988: 541
Adolfus africanus — KÖHLER et al. 2004
Adolfus africanus — GREENBAUM et al. 2011
Adolfus africanus — SPAWLS et al 2018: 181 
DistributionUganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire; except in the west), S Cameroon, NW Zambia, W Kenya, Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Central African Republic; Elevation up to 2200 m.

Type locality: Entebbe, Uganda  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesType: BMNH 1946.9.3.13 (and possibly additional specimens). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Several mensural, meristic, and qualitative characters that diagnose Adolfus are shown in Tables 3–5 (in GREENBAUM et al. 2011), including: relatively large SVL (55– 84 mm); dorsoanterior border of quadrate bone rounded; size of long free ribs immediately posterior to thoracic ribs moderately enlarged; posterior border of medial loop of clavicle present and slender; small postfemoral mite pockets absent (except in A. jacksoni); intramuscular portion of hemipenial armature not deeply cleft; shape of hemipenial clavulae simple; female genital sinus unlobed; habitat in forest, forest clearings and grasslands; clutch size three to five; and ventral coloration yellow, blue, orange, or green. 
CommentDistribution: For locations and distribution map see KÖHLER et al. 2004.

Type species: Algiroides africanus BOULENGER 1906 is the type species of the genus Adolfus STERNFELD 1912.

Comparisons: Arnold 1989 presents a list of 51 characters across 4 species of Adolfus (A. jacksoni, alleni, africanus, vauereselli).

Key: Greenbaum et al. 2018 presented a key to all species of Adolfus. 
EtymologyNamed after its African origin.

The genus was named after Adolf Friedrich Herzog zu Mecklenburg. 
References
  • Arnold, E.N. 1989. Systematics and adaptive radiation of Equatorial African lizards assigned to the genera Adolfus, Bedriagaia, Gastropholis, Holaspis and Lacerta (Reptilia: Lacertidae) Journal of Natural History 23: 525-555 - get paper here
  • Arnold,E.N. 1973. Relationships of the Palaearctic lizards assigned to the genera Lacerta, Algyroides and Psammodromus (Reptilia: Lacertidae). Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. 25: 289-366 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M.;Günther, Rainer 1995. An annotated type catalogue of the lacertids (Reptilia: Lacertidae) in the Zoological Museum, Berlin. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 71 (1): 37-62 - get paper here
  • Bischoff, W. 2005. Die echten Eidechsen der Familie Lacertidae - eine Übersicht. Draco 5 (21): 4-27 - get paper here
  • Böhme, Wolfgang; Eberhard Fischer & Harald Hinkel 2023. Reptilien aus dem Irangi Forest, Provinz Kivu-Süd, Demokratische Republik Kongo. Sauria 45 (4): 29
  • Böhme, Wolfgang; Hendrik Hinkel & Harald Hinkel 2023. Aposematische Schwanzfärbung beim Jungtier von Adolfus africanus (boulenger, 1906) (Squamata: Lacertidae), mit Anmerkungen zur biologischen Bedeutung caudaler Signalfarben. Sauria 45 (1): 43-50
  • Boulenger,G.A. 1906. Additions to the herptetology of British East Africa. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 2: 570-573 - get paper here
  • Boulenger,G.A. 1920. Monograph of the Lacertidae, vol. 1. British Museum (London) - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1991. The Herpetofauna of Northern Mwinilunga Distr., Northw. Zambia. Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9 (37): 519-538
  • Broadley, Donald G. and F. P. D. Cotterill. 2004. The reptiles of southeast Katanga, an overlooked 'hot spot'. [Congo]. African Journal of Herpetology 53 (1): 35-61. - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Chirio, Laurent and Ivan Ineich 2006. Biogeography of the reptiles of the Central African Republic. African Journal of Herpetology 55(1):23-59. - get paper here
  • GREENBAUM, ELI; CESAR O. VILLANUEVA, CHIFUNDERA KUSAMBA, MWENEBATU M. ARISTOTE and WILLIAM R. BRANCH 2011. A molecular phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the description of a new genus and species from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163: 913–942 - get paper here
  • Greenbaum, Eli; Stephanie Dowell Beer, Daniel F. Hughes, Philipp Wagner, Christopher G. Anderson, Cesar O. Villanueva, Patrick K. Malonza, Chifundera Kusamba, Wandege M. Muninga, Mwenebatu M. Aristote, and William R. Branch 2018. Phylogeography of Jackson's Forest Lizard Adolfus jacksoni (Sauria: Lacertidae) Reveals Cryptic Diversity in the Highlands of East Africa. Herpetological Monographs 32 (1): 51-68 - get paper here
  • Köhler, J., P. Wagner, S. Visser & W. Böhme 2003. New country records of Adolfus africanus (Sauria: Lacertidae) – a rain forest lizard with disjunct distribution? Salamandra 39 (3-4): 241-248 - get paper here
  • Laurent, R.F. 1958. Notes herpétologiques africaines II. Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 58 (1–2): 115–128
  • Mertens, R. 1968. Zur Kenntnis der Herpetofauna von Kamerun und Fernando Poo. Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 19: 69-84. - get paper here
  • Pérez I de Lanuza G, Font E 2016. The evolution of colour pattern complexity: selection for conspicuousness favours contrasting within-body colour combinations in lizards. J Evol Biol. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12835 - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Portik DM, Jongsma GFM, Kouete MT, Scheinberg LA, Freiermuth B, Tapondjou WP, Blackburn DC. 2016. A survey of amphibians and reptiles in the foothills of Mount Kupe, Cameroon. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10(2) [Special Section]: 37–67 (e131)
  • Schmidt, Karl Patterson 1919. Contributions to the Herpetology of the Belgian Congo based on the Collection of the American Congo Expedition, 1909-1915. Part I: turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and chamaeleons. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 39 (2): 385-624 - get paper here
  • Schmitz A., Euskirchen, O. & Böhme W. 2000. Zur Herpetofauna einer montanen Regenwaldregion in SW-Kamerun (Mt. Kupe und Bakossi-Gergland).III. Einige bemerkenswerte Vertreter der Familien Lacertidae, Scincidae, Varanidae, Elapidae und Viperidae. Herpetofauna 22 (124): 16-27 - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1912. IV. Zoologie II. Lfg. Reptilia. In: Schubotz., R. (ed.): Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Afrika Expedition 1907- 1908, unter Führung A. Friedrichs, Herzogs zu Mecklenburg. Klinkhard und Biermann, Leipzig: 197-279 [published 1912, not 1913, as often cited, see Männel & Kucharzewski 2017] - get paper here
  • Wagner, P. & Rödder, D. 2008. Erfassung der Herpetofauna eines Waldfragments im nordöstlichen Sambia unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Biogeographie. Elaphe 16 (3): 27-31
  • Wagner, P., E. Greenbaum, P. Malonza & B. Branch 2014. Resolving sky island speciation in populations of East African Adolfus alleni (Sauria, Lacertidae). Salamandra 50 (1): 1-17 - get paper here
  • Witte, G. F. de 1933. Reptiles récoltés au Conge Belge par le Dr. H. Schouteden et par M. G.-F. Witte. Ann. Mus. Conge belge Zool. Ser. 1 Tome III: 53-100.
  • WITTE, G.-F. DE & R.F. LAURENT 1942. Liste des Lacertidae du Congo Belge et description d’une espèce nouvelle. Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines, Bruxelles, 36 (2): 165-180 - get paper here
 
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