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Monopeltis rhodesiana BROADLEY, GANS & VISSER, 1976

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Higher TaxaAmphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Zimbabwe wedge-snouted amphisbaenian 
SynonymMonopeltis capensis rhodesiana BROADLEY, GANS & VISSER 1976
Monopeltis sphenorhynchus — BROADLEY 1962 (not A. SMITH) (part.)
Monopeltis rhodesianus — BROADLEY 1988
Monopeltis rhodesiana — BROADLEY 1997: 9
Monopeltis rhodesianus — GANS 2005: 37
Monopeltis rhodesianus — PIETERSEN et al. 2021 
DistributionNW Zimbabwe, S Zambia, C Mozambique, S Malawi

Type locality: Nyashanu, Save Communal Land, Buhera District, Zimbabwe.  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: NMZB, previously UM 28699. Paratypes: AMNH 112980–112983; UM 28677–28690; 28692–28698; 28700–28710, 28713–28720, 28722–28776; taken with holotype. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A derived species of the M. capensis complex, distinguished by the pigmentation restricted to the dorsal surface of the posterior half of the body, becoming heavier on the tail, where it usually extends to the ventral surface. The dorsal head shield rarely shows lateral clefts and the ocular is reduced in size or absent. There are usually not more than 12 supernumerary dorsal half- annuli (usually more in all other species except zambezensis). Usually four anterior postgenials and 4 to 6 posterior (resembling decosteri and zambezensis rather than infuscatus and capensis). (Broadley 1997)


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CommentHas often been treated as Monopeltis capensis. Has also been confused with M. decosteri. M. c. rhodesiana has been elevated to species status because it has a different karyotype (2n = 36 as opposed to 2n = 34 in typical M. capensis) and because of phenotypic differences. 
EtymologyNamed after its occurence in (Southern) Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was named after British imperialist Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902), a British mining magnate and “ardent believer in British imperialism” (Wikipedia). 
References
  • Broadley, D. G. 1997. A review of the Monopeltis capensis complex in southern Africa (Reptilia: Amphisbaenidae). African Journal of Herpetology 46 (1): 1-12. - get paper here
  • 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
  • Broadley, D.G. 1988. A check list of the reptiles of Zimbabwe, with synoptic keys. Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9(30): 369-430.
  • Broadley, D.G., Gans,C. & Visser, J. 1976. Studies on Amphisbaenians. (6). The Genera Monopeltis and Dalophia in Southern Africa. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 157 (5): 311-486 - get paper here
  • Gans, C. 2005. CHECKLIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE AMPHISBAENIA OF THE WORLD. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 289: 1-130 - get paper here
  • Gemel, R.; G. Gassner & S. Schweiger 2019. Katalog der Typen der Herpetologischen Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien – 2018. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 33–248
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
 
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