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Vestigial appendicular skeletons in the African and Malagasy skink species Feylinia grandisquamis, Melanoseps ater, Grandidierina lineata and Voeltzkowia mira
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Rachel Liniewski --- , , USA Shane Stanley --- , USA Julia Andrade --- , , USA Phil Senter --- , , USAVestigial appendicular skeletons are present but have not previously been described and illustrated in the skink species Feylinia grandisquamis and Melanoseps ater. Vestigial appendicular skeletons have been described and illustrated in only one specimen of Grandidierina lineata and in a... -
On the taxonomic status of two enigmatic southern African fossorial skinks, Scelotes bicolor and S. schebeni
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Aaron M. Bauer --- , , USAThe nominal taxa Scelotes bicolor and Scelotes schebeni are known only from their respective type specimens, both now lost, and they have been regarded as species inquirendae. A review of available data confirms that earlier synonymisations with S. arenicola and... -
Appendicular skeleton of the vestigial-limbed African skink Eumecia anchietae
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Shane G. Stanley --- , , USA Rachel M. Liniewski --- , , USA Philip J. Senter --- , , USAWithin the lizard family Scincidae (the skinks) are numerous examples of species with vestigial limbs and girdles, but these vestigial structures remain undescribed for many such species. Here we seek to partially fill this gap in knowledge by describing the... -
The reptiles of Tinhosa Grande islet (Gulf of Guinea): A taxonomic update and the role of Quaternary sea level fluctuations in their diversification
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Luis MP Ceríaco --- Universidade do Porto, Portugal Justin Bernstein --- Rutgers University-Newark, USA Ana C Sousa --- Universidade de Évora, Portuga Mariana P Marques --- Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal Aaron M Bauer --- Villanova University, USA Sietze J Norder --- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, The NetherlandsThe reptile fauna of Tinhosa Grande islet, Gulf of Guinea, comprises an endemic skink, Trachylepis adamastor, and an unidentified species of gecko of the genus Hemidactylus. Until recently, no molecular data were available for either species, impeding their phylogenetic placement... -
Mistaken identity: challenges with specimen identification for morphologically conservative skinks (Trachylepis) leads to taxonomic error
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Kirstin Stephens --- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, South Africa Graham J Alexander --- University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Buyisile G Makhubo --- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Nicolas S Telford --- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, South Africa Krystal A Tolley --- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, South AfricaIt is commonly recognised that natural history datasets contain locality errors that can compromise the utility of those datasets. However, another source of error in these datasets is taxonomic misidentifications, and this type of error is potentially common, particularly with... -
Morphological variation and geographical distribution in the South African lizards Typhlosaurus caecus (Cuvier 1817) and Typhlosaurus vermis Boulenger 1887 (Scincidae: Acontinae)
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: MichaelF. Bates --- , South Africa Neil J.L. Heideman --- , South Africa BrianA. Wilson --- Soghne College of Education, South Africa Martin G.J. Hendricks --- University of the Western Cape, South Africa Nulfa Don --- Soghne College of Education, South Africa Carlos Moses --- Soghne College of Education, South AfricaThe most recent evaluation of morphological variation in Typhlosaurus caecus was based on only six specimens, including one from Port Nolloth here referred to T. vermis. We report on morphological variation in 25 T. caecus and 33 T. vermis from... -
A review of the genus Mabuya in southeastern Africa (Sauria: Scincidae)
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa • Authors: DonaldG. Broadley --- Research Associate, Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe,The taxonomy of twenty‐one evolutionary species of Mabuya from southeastern Africa is reviewed, using the general lineage concept and several diagnostic characters not previously used for this genus. This has resulted in two insular populations, M. casuarinae Broadley and M... -
On the identity of lacerta punctata Linnaeus 1758, the type species of the genus Euprepis Wagler 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro‐Malagasy skinks
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa • Authors: AaronM. Bauer --- Villanova University, United States of AmericaA recent phylogenetic revision placed Afro‐Malagasy Mabuya Fitzinger, 1826 into the genus Euprepis Wagler, 1830, with the type species Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758 (syn. Mabuya homalocephala fide Andersson [1900]). Identification of L. punctatus with Euprepis destabilizes existing name usage for... -
Molecular phylogenetics of Malagasy skinks (Squamata: Scincidae)
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa • Authors: AlisonS. Whiting --- Brigham Young University, USA JackW. Sites --- Brigham Young University, USA AaronM. Bauer --- Villanova University, USAMalagasy skinks are a poorly known group, and their relationships have not been critically evaluated previously. In this paper we present a phylogeny of Malagasy “scincine” lizards, based on quantitative phylogenetic analysis of data from seven molecular markers. Our analysis... -
A revision of the East African species of Melanoseps Boulenger (Sauria: Scincidae: Feylininae)
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa • Authors: DonaldG. Broadley --- Research Associate, Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe AlisonS. Whiting --- Brigham Young University, USA AaronM. Bauer --- Villanova University, USAThe East African species of Melanoseps are revised and the following taxonomic changes proposed: 1. M. ater matengoensis Loveridge 1942 and M. ater misukuensis Loveridge 1953 are placed in the synonymy of M. ater (Günther 1873). 2. Melanoseps emmrichi sp... -
A new species of Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Scincidae) from central African forests
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa • Authors: Laurent Chirio --- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, France Ivan Ineich --- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, France Andreas Schmitz --- Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de la Ville de Genève (MHNG), Switzerland Matthew LeBreton --- CRESAR, CameroonIntensive collection and field observations in the Central African Republic revealed a previously undescribed skink species of the genus Trachylepis. Morphologically this species seems to be related to Trachylepis boulengeri and/or T. polytropis, but genetic analysis showed that this is... -
Typhlosaurus jappi Broadley, 1968, a Valid Species of Acontine Skink
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Victoria Schneider --- Villanova University, USA AaronM. Bauer --- Villanova University, USANew evidence from scalation, dental, and reproductive traits supports the recognition of the Barotseland Blind Legless Skink, Typhlosaurus jappi, as a valid species distinct from T. lineatus. -
A further new species of limbless skink, genus Paracontias, from eastern Madagascar
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Jörn Köhler --- Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany DavidR. Vieites --- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Spain Frank Glaw --- Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Germany Nathalie Kaffenberger --- Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany Miguel Vences --- Zoological Institute, Technical University of Braunschweig, GermanyWe describe a new species of the genus Paracontias from a rain forest in the northern Central East of Madagascar based on a single specimen. Paracontias kankana sp. nov. is unique among all known species of Paracontias by exhibiting large... -
Differentiation within the endemic burrowing skink Pamelaescincus gardineri, across the Seychelles islands, assessed by mitochondrial and nuclear markers
Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Journal of Herpetology • Authors: Joana Valente --- , , Portugal Sara Rocha --- , , Portugal D. James Harris --- , , PortugalUnveiling patterns of genetic differentiation across insular distributions is relevant for biogeographic and conservation reasons. In the Indian Ocean, surprisingly, little is known regarding the genetic structure of many taxa across the Seychelles Islands, despite their importance as old Gondwanic...