Heliobolus bivari MARQUES, CERÍACO, HEINICKE, CHEBOURI, CONRADIE, TOLLEY & BAUER, 2022
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Heliobolus bivari
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Bivar’s bushveld lizard Portuguese: lagartixa de Bivar |
| Synonym | Heliobolus bivari MARQUES, CERÍACO, HEINICKE, CHEBOURI, CONRADIE, TOLLEY & BAUER 2022 |
| Distribution | Angola (southwestern xeric/desertic lowlands) Type locality: Virulundo, Namibe Province, Angola (–16.2852°S, 12.9419°E), 718 m elevation |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: CAS 266287, adult female, collected by Luis M.P. Ceríaco, Suzana A. Bandeira and Ishan Agarwal on 2 December 2016. Paratypes (n=16); CAS 266276-266286; PEM R17965, 17966, 21626; 21630, 24128, 24129 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: “A medium-sized lizard, identified to genus by the following combination of charac-ters: well-developed limbs, slender body, elongated snout, long tail, and a distinct collar on ventral region. Heliobolus bivari can be distinguished from other members of its genus by the following combination of characteristics: (1) stout medium-size body (mean SVL 54.6 mm); (2) long-tailed (mean 123.7 mm), tail more than twice the body length; (3) midbody scale rows 64–82 (mean: 71.5); (4) higher number of subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe (mean: 26.6); (5) parietals usually in contact, rarely separated; (6) cranial shields not ornamented and temporal shield smooth; (7) lateral dark marking through the ear to the posterior margin of the eye faded or totally absent; (8) absence of bright yellow dots ventrolaterally.” |
| Comment | Distribution: Possibly widespread to neighboring Namibia. Diet: Expected to be similar to other Heliobolus species, therefore being oviparous and insectivorous. Natural history: As commonly observed in juvenile H. lugubris individuals, it is assumed that juveniles of H. bivari mimic Anthia (Carabidae) ground beetles, both through their iconic white and yellow markings on a black body, and by adopting an “arched” position when walking, imitating the general shape of a beetle. |
| Etymology | Named after the Portuguese entomologist António Bivar de Sousa (Lisbon, 1946–), a researcher at the recently defunct Instituto de Investigação Ciemtífica Tropical (IICT), Lisboa, Portugal. Bivar de Sousa has had an important role in entomological research in Angola. Specific epithet is a patronym in the masculine genitive singular. |
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