Cordylus angolensis (BOCAGE, 1895)
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Cordylus angolensis
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| Higher Taxa | Cordylidae (Cordylinae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Angolan Girdled Lizard G: Angola-Gürtelschweif |
| Synonym | Zonurus angolensis BOCAGE 1895 Cordylus cordylus angolensis LOVERIDGE 1944 Cordylus angolensis — VISSER 1971 Cordylus angolensis — ADOLPHS 2006 Cordylus angolensis — STANLEY et al. 2011 Cordylus angolensis — REISSIG 2014 Cordylus angolensis — BATES et al. 2023: 620 |
| Distribution | Angola, (N Namibia ?, S Zaire ?) Type locality: Caconda, Huila District, Angola. |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous (Ovoovovivparous) |
| Types | Holotype: lost, was MB (Museu Bocage) (probably lost in fire 1978) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A medium to large rupicolous Cordylus with a moderately depressed head and body. Referred to Cordylus (rather than any other species of Cordylidae) by the following combination of characters: head distinct from body, two pairs of large and well developed limbs (body serpentiform, head indistinct from body, and limbs rudimentary in Chamaesaura Schneider, 1799), scales on back large and keeled (granular in Platysaurus Smith, 1844, partly granular in Pseudocordylus Smith, 1838 and Hemicordylus Smith, 1838), non-spinose occipitals (spinose in Smaug Stanley et al., 2011), 23–24 transverse dorsal scale rows (40–43 in Ninurta Stanley et al., 2011; 31–46 in Karusasaurus Stanley et al., 2011; 15–16 in Ouroborus Stanley et al., 2011); loreal absent (present in Smaug, Nirnuta, Ouroborus, Karusasaurus, and Namazonurus Stanley et al., 2011). Cordylus angolensis is distinguishable from other members of its genus by the following combination of characters: (1) back dark brown with a paravertebral series of pale markings; (2) top of head plain brown or with occasional pale blotches; (3) iris of the eye brown; (4) scales of the first transverse row of dorsals similar in appearance to those of the row behind; (5) loreal shield absent; (6) nostril pierced in the posterior part of a large nasal, situated behind the suture of rostral and first supralabial, usually well separated from both the first supralabial and the preocular; (7) a regular row of six enlarged, non-spinose occipitals; (8) Frontonasal separated from the frontal by a pair of prefrontals (each of which usually exceeds it in size) or in contact; (9) Anterior pair of parietals usually in contact anteriorly; (10) dorsolateral and lateral scales may be weakly to moderately spinose; (11) tail spinose, but more weakly so distally; (12) dorsal scale rows transversely 24–25; (13) dorsal scale rows longitudinally 20–23; (14) ventral scale rows transversely 22–24; (15) ventral scale rows longitudinally 14; (16) subdigital lamellae on 4th toe 14; (17) femoral pores per thigh 5–6 in males and females; (18) differentiated femoral scales [generation glands] per thigh in males 19–25; (19) premaxillary teeth 7. Its status as a distinct species is supported by monophyly with high levels of support from a suite of three mitochondrial and six nuclear markers (see above); and it differs from C. ‘Mombolo’ (see below), the most similar species genetically and morphologically, by an uncorrelated ND2 p-distance of 9.22% (Table 3). (Bates et al. 2023) |
| Comment | The status of the poorly-known C. angolensis Bocage 1895 remains problematic. Broadley (1971) considered it a synonym of C. tropidosternum. Loveridge (1944) noted that Bocage’s type description of C. angolensis lacked detail, and the types have subsequently been destroyed. However, the colouration and various features of scalation in C. angolensis, i.e., 27-28 transverse rows of dorsals and 14 longitudinal rows of ventrals, are unusual in C. meculae. Given the large geographic distance between the two taxa they are unlikely to be conspecific, but this can only be resolved with the collection of additional material [from BRANCH et al. 2005]. |
| Etymology | Named after its distribution in Angola. |
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