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Heliobolus lugubris (SMITH, 1838)

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Higher TaxaLacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bushveld Lizard, Mourning Racerunner, Black and Yellow Sand Lizard
G: Bushveld-Echse 
SynonymLacerta lugubris SMITH 1838: 93
Eremias dorsalis — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 305
Eremias lugubris — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 309
Eremias lugubris — BOULENGER 1887: 84
Lacerta lugubris — BOCAGE 1895: 31
Eremias lugubris — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Eremias lugubris — HUEY 1975
Heliobolus lugubris — AUERBACH 1987: 127
Lampreremias lugubris — SZCZERBAK 1989
Heliobolus lugubris — BAUER et al. 1993
Heliobolus lugubris — BATES et al. 2014: 160
Heliobolus lugubris — SCHLEICHER 2020 
DistributionS/W Angola, W Mozambique, W/S/SE Zimbabwe, Botswana, N South Africa, Namibia

Type locality: "District immediately beyond the northern frontier of the Colony"  
Reproductionmean clutch size: 3.44 +/- 1.42 SD (range: 1-6) [n = 25 females]; neonates were found in January, February, and April. 
TypesType: BMNH 1946.8.6.37-45 (and possibly additional specimens). 
Diagnosis 
CommentMimicry: Juveniles of this species mimic beetles of the genera Anthia and Thermophilium (SCHMIDT 2004).

Type species: Lacerta lugubris SMITH 1838: 93 is the type species of the genus Heliobolus FITZINGER 1843. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “lugere” = mourning (adjective “lugubris”) referring to the dull, dusky, gloomy color. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1985. The reptiles of Gaborone: a guide to the reptiles of the south-eastern hardveld of Botswana. Botswana Book Centre, Gaborone, Botswana 48 pp.
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Baptista NL, António T, Branch WR. 2019. The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [Special Section]: 96–130 (e203) - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Branch, William R. & Haacke, Wulf D. 1993. The herpetofauna of the Kamanjab area and adjacent Damaraland, Namibia. Madoqua (Windhoek) 18 (2): 117-145. - get paper here
  • Boettger, Oskar 1894. Dr. Eduard Fleck's Reiseausbeute aus Südwest-Afrika. II. Vorkommen und Lebensweise der Reptilien und Batrachier. Bericht über die Senckenbergische naturforschende Gesellschaft (Frankfurt), (1893/1894), 88-93. - get paper here
  • 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. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575 pp. - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Conradie W and Branch WR. 2016. The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10 (2) [Special Section]: 6–36 - get paper here
  • Conradie W, Keates C, Verburgt L, Baptista NL, Harvey J, Júlio T, Neef G. 2022. Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi River drainages. Part 2: Lizards (Sauria), chelonians, and crocodiles. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 16(2): 181–214 (e322) - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, W., ENGELBRECHT, H., HERREL, A., MEASEY, G.J., NIELSEN, S.V., V ANHOOYDONCK, B., & TOLLEY, K.A. 2011. Reptile survey of Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province - South Africa. African Herp News (55): 6-12 - get paper here
  • Cooper Jr., W.E. 2005. Duration of movement as a lizard foraging movement variable. Herpetologica 61 (4): 363-372 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1839. Erpétologie Générale on Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Vol. 5. Roret/Fain et Thunot, Paris, 871 pp. - get paper here
  • FitzSimons, V.F. 1943. The lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No.1 (Pretoria), 528 pp.
  • Fitzsimons, V.F.M.; Brain, C.K. 1958. A Short account of the Reptiles of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Koedoe, 1(1): 99-104 - get paper here
  • Fuchs, J.; Grohmann, C.; Rödel, M.O. & Penner, J. 2006. Ökologische Untersuchungen an Reptilien einer Dornbuschsavanne in Zentralnamibia - Unwägbarkeiten der Freilandforschung. Elaphe 14 (4): 45-50
  • Goldberg, S.R. 2006. Reproductive cycle of the bushveld lizard Heliobolus lugubris (Squamata: LAcertidae) from southern Africa. Salamandra 42 (2-3): 151-154 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Huey, R. B. 1975. Ecology of lizards in the Kalahari Desert, Africa. Nat. Geographic Soc. Res. Rep. 365-370
  • Huey, R. B., Miles, D. B., & Pianka, E. R. 2021. Seasonality in Kgalagadi Lizards: Inferences from Legacy Data. American Naturalist 198 (6): 759-771 - get paper here
  • Huey, Raymond B.; Eric R. Pianka 1977. Seasonal Variation in Thermoregulatory Behavior and Body Temperature of Diurnal Kalahari Lizards. Ecology 58 (5):1066-1075
  • Huey, Raymond B.;Pianka, Eric R. 1977. Natural selection for juvenile lizards mimicking noxious beetles. Science 195: 201-203 - get paper here
  • Huey, Raymound B.; Eric R. Pianka 1981. Ecological Consequences of Foraging Mode. Ecology 62 (4):991-999
  • Marques, Mariana P.; Luis M. P. Ceríaco , David C. Blackburn , and Aaron M. Bauer 2018. Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola -- Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840–2017). Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (Ser. 4) 65: 1-501 (Supplement II)
  • Pianka, Eric R. 1971. Lizard species density in the Kalahari Desert. Ecology 52 (6): 1024-1029 - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren W. Pietersen, Errol W. Haacke, Wulf D. 2013. First herpetological appraisal of the Parque Nacional de Banhine, Gaza Province, southern Mozambique. Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 3: 153-163 - get paper here
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2015. Reptilien Namibias. Namibia Scientific  Society, 276 pp.
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Schmidt, A. 1995. Mimikry zwischen Wüsteneidechsen und Wüstenlaufkäfern. Elaphe 3 (3): 74
  • Schmidt, A. 2004. Mimikry zwischen Eidechsen und Laufkäfern. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 374 pp.
  • Schmidt, A. D. 1997. Zur wachstumsbedingten Entwicklung von Färbung und Biometrie bei Heliobolus lugubris. Sauria 19 (2): 35-45 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Almuth;Gruschwitz, Michael 1997. Mimikry zwischen Wüsteneidechsen und Wüstenlaufkäfern - eine Überlebensstrategie in extremer umwelt. Reptilia (Münster) 2 (6): 22-24 - get paper here
  • Schmidt,A. D. 1997. Zur Verbreitung, Biologie und Ökologie von Heliobolus lugubris A. SMITH 1838 (Sauria: Lacertidae) im südlichen Afrika. Salamandra 33 (4): 269-288 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1838. Contributions to the Natural History of Southern Africa. Art. VIII. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, 2 (14): 92-94
  • Szczerbak, Nikolai N. 1989. Catalogue of the African Sand lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Eremiainae: Lampreremias, Pseuderemias, Taenieremias, Mesalina, Meroles). Herpetozoa 1 (3/4): 119-132. - get paper here
 
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