Acontias mukwando MARQUES, PARRINHA, TIUTENKO, LOPES-LIMA, BAUER & CERÍACO, 2023
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Acontias mukwando
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Acontiinae (Acontidae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Serra da Neve lance-skink Portuguese: Lagarto-lança-da-Serra da Neve |
| Synonym | Acontias mukwando MARQUES, PARRINHA, TIUTENKO, LOPES-LIMA, BAUER & CERÍACO 2023: 7 |
| Distribution | Angola (Namibe) Type locality: vicinity of Catchi, Serra da Neve inselberg, -13.7660°, 13.2587°, 1674 m a.s.l., Namibe province, Angola |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: An unsexed adult (MUHNAC/MB03-001522, field no. LMPC 3172; Figures 5, 7, 8), collected by Diogo Parrinha, Mariana Marques, and Luis M.P. Ceríaco on 28 October 2022. Paratypes: Two specimens: An unsexed juvenile (MUHNAC/MB03-001524, field no. LMPC 3251; Figures 6, 7) and an unsexed adult (MUHNAC/MB03-001523, field no. LMPC 3276; Figure 7), with the same collecting data of the holotype, but collected, respectively, on 1 and 2 November 2022. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium-sized limbless species of the genus Acontias (Figures 3, 5–7), with movable eyelids, no ear opening, and a clear scale covering the pineal foramen. It is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the combination of the eye being exposed, three chin shields bordering the mental, 15–18 MSR, 172–178 VS, and a colour pattern characterised by a dark dorsum and cream flanks and ventrum. The dark dorsal pigmentation is reduced to the middorsal region, and the cream-coloured lateral colouration continues dorsally, forming an interrupted collar across the nape. Acontias mukwando sp. nov. can be distinguished from the two other Angolan congeners, A. jappi and A. kgalagadi, in possessing moveable eyelids (absent in A. jappi and A. kgalagadi). The possession of moveable eyelids also allows its immediate distinction from other congeners not yet recorded for the country, but which occur in neighbouring areas of Zambia, such as A. schmitzi. Regarding the other species of Acontias recorded in Angola — A. occidentalis — Acontias mukwando sp. nov. is distinguished mostly on the grounds of colouration. Monard (1937) noted that the three specimens of A. occidentalis collected in Mupa were “dark grey, barely browner on the ventral surfaces, the rostral and mental lighter”. The two extant specimens housed in the MHNC (MHNC 91.0632 and MHNC 91.0633) are mostly bleached, but their colour is uniform and does not suggest any kind of pattern as seen in the type series of Acontias mukwando sp. nov. Acontias occidentalis is known for having different colour morphs (Broadley and Greer 1969), which might correspond to the recently identified cryptic lineages found by Zhao et al. (2023). Specimens from the Kalahari region and around the type locality of the nominotypical form (Okahandja, central Namibia), are black above and below, sometimes with up to 35 scattered white ventral scales (Broadley and Greer 1969). This pattern is similar to that reported by Monard (1937) for the specimens from Mupa and is in line with the existing records from central Namibia available on GBIF (2023). A second colour morph corresponds to what was originally described by FitzSimons (1956) as A. plumbeus broadleyi [considered as a colour morph of A. occidentalis by Broadley and Greer (1969)], that mostly occurs in non-Kalahari sands areas, such as Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa, and is olive green or grey-brown above (pigmentation diffuse) and white below (Broadley and Greer 1969). However, as Broadley and Greer (1969) note, these two morphs occur sympatrically across the range of A. occidentalis. Neither of these two morphs corresponds to the very unique colouration pattern of A. mukwando sp. nov., which is homogeneous cream ventrally and laterally and dark brown on the dorsum with the exception of the neck region. Acontias mukwando sp. nov. is also readily distinguished from its other phylogenetically closely related species, A. percivali, by its distinctive interrupted collar (versus continuous dark colouration on the nape). Acontias mukwando sp. nov. and A. percivali populations are also separated by a minimum distance of 2 600 km. Similarly, the new species can also be distinguished from A. plumbeus by its colouration (homogeneous cream on the ventrum and flanks, dark brown on the dorsum with the exception of the neck region in A. mukwando sp. nov. versus uniform black or brown in A. plumbeus). It can also be distinguished from this species by a higher number of ventral scales (172–178 versus 146–165 in A. plumbeus) and by its much smaller size (maximum SVL 153 mm in A. mukwando sp. nov. versus 490 mm in A. plumbeus). It can also be distinguished from A. breviceps by a higher number of ventral scales (172–178 versus 149–165 in A. breviceps). It can be distinguished from A. aurantiacus aurantiacus, A. aurantiacus bazarutoensis, A. aurantiacus carolinensis, A. fitzsimonsi, A. parietalis and A. poecilus (currently considered a synonym of A. plumbeus according to Zhao et al. 2019) by having only three chin shields bordering the mental (versus 5). It can be distinguished from A. rieppeli and A. richardi by having four supraciliaries (versus only two in A. rieppeli and one in A. richardi). Comparing the newly described species with other members of the genus such as A. cregoi, A. bicolor, A. kgalagadi and A. gariepensis, it can be easily distinguished by possessing moveable eylelids; regarding A. albigularis, A. gracilicauda, A. meleagris complex, A. namaquensis, A. lineacauda, A. litoralis, A. grayi, A. tristis, A. lineatus and A. wakkerstroomensis, it can be distinguished by having 24–30 SC (versus > 31 in the cited taxa). (Marques et al. 2023) |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet “mukwando” is a noun in apposition and is given in honour of the people that inhabit Serra da Neve. This name is a recognition of the support, enthusiasm and friendship shown by the Catchi villagers to our team. |
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