Pedioplanis branchi CHILDERS, KIRCHHOF & BAUER, 2021
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Pedioplanis branchi
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Pedioplanis branchi CHILDERS, KIRCHHOF & BAUER 2021 Eremias inornata ROUX 1907: 427 Eremias undata inornata — DAAN & HILLENIUS 1966: 129 Pedioplanis undata inornata — MAYER 1989 Pedioplanis inornata — BAUER & BRANCH 2003 Pedioplanis inornata — MAKOKHA et al. 2007 |
| Distribution | Namibia (Erongo Region: south of the Swakop River in the South, to the Ugab River and the Brandberg in the north and Mount Erongo and Otjimbingwe in the east) Type locality: Namibia, S of Karibib at Junction of Road D1914 and Road D1952, Karibib District, Erongo Region (-22.27038, 15.57471, 1080 m a.s.l.) |
| Reproduction | oviparous; Breeding season appears to be similar to other southern African Pedioplanis spp. in spring, gravid females were found in December (Childers et al. 2021) |
| Types | Holotype: CAS 214788, adult male; (field number AMB 6551) collected 8 June 2000 by Aaron M. Bauer. Paratypes: n = 7 (adults); (two females: ZMB 89310, ZMB 89311; five males: CAS 214790, CAS 214792, CAS 214794, ZMB 89305, ZMB 89316) collected from various localities located in the Erongo Region of northwestern Namibia, CAS 214790; S of Karibib at the junction of Rd. D19414 and Rd. D1952 (-22.27281, 15.57815, 1075 m a.s.l.); collected 8 June 2000 by Aaron M. Bauer; CAS 214792; same collection data as for proceeding • CAS 214794; same collection data as for proceeding; ZMB 89305; 22 km SW of Uis along C35 (-21.42419, 14.76271, 831 m a.s.l.); 10 August 2014; ZMB 89316; 22 km SW of Uis along C35 (-21.34513, 14.75676, 884 m a.s.l.); 23 January 2013; ZMB 89310; Farm Friedhelm Sack (-22.52699, 15.54487, 709 m a.s.l.); 14 October 2014; ZMB 89311; same collection data as for proceeding; all ZMB specimens collected by Sebastian Kirchhof. Elevation data for the holotype and paratypes was obtained using the GPS, or, if not available, from Google Earth (earth.google.com) using georeferenced GPS coordinates from the collecting localities. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Distinguished from P. lineoocellata, P. laticeps and P. burchelli by having 10 longitudinal ventral scale rows (vs. 12 or more). It is distinct from P. benguelensis, P. gaerdesi, P. breviceps, P. namaquensis and P. husabensis in usually possessing a semi-transparent lower eyelid with a brille formed by 2–4 scales (brille formed by a single scale in P. benguelensis and P. gaerdesi, lower eyelid with eight opaque scales in P. husabensis and opaque and scaly in P. breviceps and P. namaquensis); in some rare cases P. branchi sp. nov. may possess a single transparent scale in lower eyelid, those individuals can be distinguished from P. benguelensis and P. gaerdesi by color and dorsal patterning (see below). Dorsal patterning is characterized as being uniformly gray from the mid-back towards the head with a reddish hindbody (posterior half of body) and with a series of pale to bright yellow spots or ocelli on lower flanks, distinguishing it from P. rubens (dorsum and tail uniform red-brown to brick red, lacking conspicuous markings with only a hint of a slightly brighter dorso-lateral line on each side), P. mayeri sp. nov., P. haackei, P. huntleyi, P. undata (dorsum contains bold stripes or other longitudinal elements), P. gaerdesi (never with lateral ocelli, and speckled with very small black or light dots) and P. inornata (spots on flanks are typically pale green, not yellow). It can further be distinguished from all other Pedioplanis (except P. inornata) in typically having a pair of distinct dark markings on the face, one through the eye and extending onto the supralabials directly below and one more posterior, near the corner of the mouth. The new species is significantly smaller than P. inornata (P. branchi mean adult SVL = 44.4 mm, max. 49.1 mm, versus P. inornata mean adult SVL 47.3 mm, max. 54.0 mm for specimens sampled here; to 56.0 mm elsewhere [Bauer and Shea 2006]). The maturity of specimens was confirmed by their mostly or completely fused long bone epiphyses. We also provide several diagnostic characters based on the mitochondrial gene ND2. Pedioplanis branchi sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other members of the P. undata species complex except P. laticeps and P. undata in being characterized by having the amino acid histidine instead of tyrosine at base pair 359 due to a codon change at that position. It can also be distinguished from all other Pedioplanis species except P. laticeps in possessing a thymine at base pair 300, rather than an adenine (P. benguelensis, P. burchelli, P. gaerdesi, P. haackei, P. huntleyi, P. husabensis, P. inornata, P. mayeri sp. nov., P. namaquensis, P. rubens, P. undata) or a cytosine (P. breviceps and P. lineoocellata) (Childers et al. 2021). Additional details (1088 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | parapatry: P. husabensis; probably P. mayeri along its NE border. Sympatry: Trachylepis sulcata, Rhoptropus boultoni, Agama planiceps, Matobosaurus validus, and Varanus albigularis, among others. Similar species: P. inornata. Conservation: Populations occur in protected areas within Namib-Naukluft Park and Tsiseb Conservancy, and possibly Dorob National Park. Applying IUCN criteria we consider P. branchi to be Least Concern. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is a patronym formed in the genitive singular honoring the friend and colleague of the authors, the British-born South African herpetologist, William Roy Branch (1946–2018), in recognition of his many contributions to African herpetology and in remembrance of many happy trips in the field together |
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