Pedioplanis haackei CONRADIE, MEASEY, BRANCH & TOLLEY, 2012
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Pedioplanis haackei
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Pedioplanis haackei CONRADIE, MEASEY, BRANCH & TOLLEY 2012 Eremias undata undata — LAURENT 1964 (part.) Pedioplanis haackei — CONRADIE et al. 2019 Pedioplanis haackei — PARRINHA et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | Angola (SW desert area of Namibe Province, south of Lake Arco and north of Espinheira) Type locality: along the road to Tambo, Namibe Province, Angola (15°52’33.8’’ S, 12°12’21.0’’ E, 1512CC, 196 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: PEM R18465, adult male, with a partially everted hemipenis, collected by W.R. Branch, W. Conradie, G.J. Measey and K.A. Tolley, 19 January 2009 Allotype. An adult gravid female (PEM R18461) Paratypes. Thirteen specimens (five females, 8 males: PEM) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A small Pedioplanis with an average SVL of 45 mm (max 59 mm), with a tail length roughly two and a half times the SVL (Fig. 6). It can be distinguished from other species of the genus in Angola and neighboring regions by the following combination of characters: (1) lower eyelid with two enlarged transparent scales, often with a row of smaller ones below; (2) five (rarely four or six) supralabials anterior to the subocular and two to three posteriorly; (3) two (rarely one or three) rows of small granules between the supraoculars and supraciliaries; (4) a group of 7–28 (>12 in 75% of specimens) small granules anterior to the supraoculars; (5) ventral scales in ten (rarely nine or 11) longitudinal rows; (6) variable color pattern, usually with three dark dorsal stripes faded posteriorly. Among Angolan Pedioplanis, this species seems to be the most variable in terms of color pattern. The dorsum is greyish brown anteriorly and pale brown to brick red posteriorly, usually with dark stripes starting at the back of the head and fading between midbody and two-thirds along the back. The vertebral stripe splits or widens at the neck, or may be entirely split into two thinner stripes, with a greyish interspace. Dorsolateral stripes are usually wider and more distinct than the vertebral one. On the flanks there is a dark lateral stripe that starts behind the eye and usually fades posteriorly, often faint and reticulated, with a series of yellow to blueish circles running along its lower edge. However, the extension and distinctiveness of dorsal stripes is quite variable, being completely absent in some specimens, and extending nearly to the base of the tail in others. Hind limbs and tail reddish-brown to brick red, with the hindlimbs sometimes covered above by faint pale circles. White ventrally, sometimes reddish at the base of the tail (Parrinha et al. 2021: 26) Comparison with other Pedioplanis species. Pedioplanis haackei is readily distinguished from P. burchelli, P. laticeps, P. breviceps, P. namaquensis and P. husabensis by the presence of two enlarged transparent scales on the lower eyelid (versus eight or more opaque to semi-transparent scales in other species); from P. lineoocellata by the presence of an enlarged tympanic shield (versus no enlarged tympanic shield in P. lineoocellata); from P. inornata, P. rubens, P. gaerdesi and P. branchi by the presence of dorsal stripes (versus no stripes in P. inornata, P. rubens, P. gaerdesi and P. branchi); from P. undata by color pattern (bold anterior dorsal striping that fades posteriorly in P. haackei versus dorsal striping bold or not, may be reduced with pale longitudinal elements or even a single middorsal stripe restricted to the nape in P. undata) and a greater maximum number of granules anterior to the supraoculars (7–28 in P. haackei versus 8–13 in P. undata); and from P. mayeri by color pattern (dorsal stripes usually faded posteriorly in P. haackei versus bold and distinct all the way to the tail in P. mayeri), and a greater maximum number of granules anterior to the supraocular (7–28 in P. haackei versus 9–16 in P. mayeri). It can be further distinguished from P. undata and P. mayeri by geographic location (P. haackei restricted to Angola versus P. mayeri and P. undata restricted to Namibia). With respect to Angolan congeners, P. haackei is distinguished from P. benguelensis by color pattern (posterior dorsum usually reddish with faded stripes in P. haackei versus bold stripes all the way to the tail in P. benguelensis); it is distinguished from P. huntleyi by a smaller average SVL (mean 45 mm in P. haackei versus 54 mm in P. huntleyi), a higher number of granules anterior to the supraoculars (usually >11 in P. haackei versus <12 in P. huntleyi) and two rows of granules between supraoculars and supraciliaries (versus one in P. huntleyi). It is distinguished from an undescribed species by the presence of two transparent scales on the lower eyelid (versus one, see description below)(Parrinha et al. 2021: 26) |
| Comment | Habitat. Mainly sandy plains surrounding granite outcrops, with varying degrees of short grass cover and scattered Acacia mellifera thorn bush. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is a patronym honouring the now retired curator of the herpetology collection at the former TM (now the Ditsong: National Museum of Natural History), Wulf Haacke (1936-2021), whose herpetological surveys in Angola in the early 1970s prepared the way for this study. The name is constructed in the masculine genitive. See Bates et al. 2022 for an obituary and bibliography. |
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