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Agama wachirai MALONZA, SPAWLS, FINCH & BAUER, 2021

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Agaminae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Marsabit Rock Agama 
SynonymAgama wachirai MALONZA, SPAWLS, FINCH & BAUER 2021 
DistributionN Kenya

Type locality: north of Bubisa Shopping Center about 60 km north of Marsabit Town (2.783333, 38.083333, 544 m elevation)  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype. NMK-254L/1 Field No. MBT1, an adult male collected on 19 July 2019, by Patrick Kinyatta Malonza, Washington Wachira, yatani Adano, Simon Kiiru and Alex Mwangi (Fig. 2)
Paratypes. NMK-254L/2 (Field No. MBT2), an adult female, NMK-254L/3 (Field No. MBT3) & NMK-254/4 (Field No. MBT4) adult males, same data as holotype (Fig. 3). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A small sized rock agama of the Agama lionotus complex that can be identified by the following combination of characters: nasal scale pear-shaped, in contact with the first canthal scale; nuchal crest small, consisting of few indistinctly raised scales; ear opening surrounded by five tufts of spiny scales, with two additional tufts on the neck; vertebral scales feebly keeled, dorsal and lateral scales keeled, ventral and gular scales smooth; dorsal and lateral caudal scales keeled, ventral caudal scales smooth; and males with one discontinuous row of ten precloacal pores. Males in nuptial coloration exhibit an orange-red throat, occasionally with some faded chevrons on the edge, a vertebral stripe, and a narrowly annulated blue and white color pattern on the tail. Head dorsum orange-red in color but variable, body purple-bluish. During the day the color is dull and traces of blue can only be seen on the shoulders. Female, brownish with two pairs of orange marks, one on the dorsolateral margins of the abdomen and the other on the axilla; scattered bluish spots on the head. Along the vertebrae from the neck to the tail base are 6–8 pairs of dark/black spots that extend along the tail as dark spots or bands. In addition, other dark or black marks or spots are present on the flanks. Non-displaying males have the same color as the females except that they lack the orange pair of marks and the bluish spots on the head. All have dark marks on the limbs (Fig. 3).


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CommentOnly minimal information provided as authors have not responded to request for more information yet. 
EtymologyThe species epithet ‘wachirai’ is a patronym, formed in the masculine genitive singular, honoring of Washington Wachira, an ornithologist/naturalist who spotted and photographed this species, realized its uniqueness, made efforts to identify it and to obtain voucher specimens for the museum. 
References
  • MALONZA, P. K., SPAWLS, S., FINCH, B., & BAUER, A. M. 2021. A new of species of the Agama lionotus Boulenger, 1896 complex (Squamata: Agamidae) from northern Kenya. Zootaxa 4920 (4): 543-553 - get paper here
 
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