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Congolacerta vauereselli (TORNIER, 1902)

IUCN Red List - Congolacerta vauereselli - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaLacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sparse-scaled Forest Lizard 
SynonymLacerta vauereselli TORNIER 1902: 701
Algiroides boulengeri PERACCA 1917 (fide LOVERIDGE 1957: 229)
Lacerta vauereselli — SCHMIDT 1919: 495
Zootoca vauereselli — BOULENGER 1920: 149
Algiroides boulengeri — BOULENGER 1920: 351
Lacerta (Zootoca) vauereselli — WITTE & LAURENT 1942
Adolfus vauereselli — ARNOLD 1973
Adolfus vauereselli — ARNOLD 1989
Adolfus vauereselli — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 17
Adolfus vauereselli — GREENBAUM et al. 2011
Congolacerta vauereselli — GREENBAUM et al. 2011
Congolacerta vauereselli — SPAWLS et al 2018: 185 
DistributionW Uganda, W Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, C/E Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire)

Type locality: Kagera, west of Lake Victoria, Tanzania.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 17700 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Several mensural, meristic, and qualitative characters that diagnose Congolacerta are shown in Tables 3–5, including: modest SVL (50–58 mm); dorsoanterior border of quadrate bone rounded; size of long free ribs immediately posterior to thoracic ribs very elongated; posterior border of medial loop of clavicle present and thickened; small to very small postfemoral mite pockets present (Arnold, 1986b); intramuscular portion of hemipenial armature deeply cleft anteriorly; shape of hemipenial clavulae complexly lobed; female genital sinus bilobed; habitat forest clearings and grasslands; and ventral coloration usually unpigmented (C. vauereselli) or yellow with black or brown blotches (C. asukului) [from GREENBAUM et al. 2011]. 
CommentTORNIER (1902) did not explain the source of the name.

Type species: Lacerta vauereselli TORNIER 1902 is the type species of the genus Congolacerta GREENBAUM, VILLANUEVA, KUSAMBA, ARISTOTE & BRANCH 2011.

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

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyThe origin of the species name is not mentioned by Tornier. Klaver (2022), following Mertens (1949) and Bischoff (2001), concluded that it is a word play pronouncing the letters V, R, S and L in German, i.e. ”vau”, ”er”, ”es” and “el”, probably standing for Vertebrata, Reptilia, Sauria, and Lacertidae. 
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
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bischoff, W. 2001. Gustav Tornier (1858 – 1938), in: Rieck, W., Hallmann, G. & Bischoff, W. (eds) Die Geschichte der Herpetologie und Terarienkunde im deutschsprachigen Raum. Mertensiella, 12: 642–643
  • Boulenger,G.A. 1920. Monograph of the Lacertidae, vol. 1. British Museum (London) - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • 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
  • Klaver, Charles 2022. The etymology of three enigmatic (sub-)specific names clarified. Amphibia-Reptilia, 43(4), 431-432 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1920. Notes on East African lizards collected 1915-1919, with description of a new genus and species of skink and new subspecies of gecko. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1920: 131-167 - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1949. Lebengebärende Dreihorn-Chamäleons. Natur und Volk 79: 195-202
  • Roelke, Corey E. & Smith, E.N. 2010. Herpetofauna, Parc National des Volcans, North Province, Republic of Rwanda. Check List 6 (4): 525-531 - get paper here
  • 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
  • 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, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Tornier,G. 1902. Herpetologisch Neues aus Ostafrika. Zool. Anz. 25: 700-704 - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - 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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