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Adult male Lygodactylus regulus sp. nov. (paratype MVZ 266137): A) lateral view shortly postmortem (grayish blotch extending from right forebody onto dorsum resulted from injection), B) ventral view shortly postmortem, C) dorsal view after preservation, D) ventral view after preservation.
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A new species of high elevation dwarf gecko (Gekkonidae: Lygodactylus) is described from Mount Namuli, northern Mozambique. This new species is distinguished from other closely related species in the genus Lygodactylus by body size, scalation, and color, and is genetically divergent from congeners. The species is most similar genetically and morpho...
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... SPECIES OF DWARF GECKO FROM MOZAMBIQUE the most proximal pair remaining separated by three granules. Dorsal surfaces of limbs cinnamon brown, with irregular lighter markings. Body venter smoky white with no markings or speckling. Gular region suffused with pale sulphur yellow and bearing medium neutral gray markings (Fig. 6C, yellow lacking in paratype MVZ 266137 - Fig. 7D). Dorsum of tail cinnamon brown with lighter chevron pattern (kingfisher rufous to pale pinkish buff), laterally exhibiting 19 cinnamon brown rectangular markings separated by kingfisher rufous background with minute pale pinkish buff spots, ventrally smoky white suffused with grey posteriorly. Coloration in life. Recently euthanized specimens prior to fixation (Figs. 6A, 7A) are smoke gray to cinnamon-drab in background coloration with darker brown to black markings and a paler thick dorsolateral stripe. In the holotype this stripe contains a series of well-defined circular to oval markings ranging from cinnamon-drab anteriorly to cream white posteriorly. The ocellus anterior to the forelimb insertion is bright white with a black border. In paratype MVZ 266137 the pale dorsolateral stripe extends to the posterior border of the orbit. Paratype PEM R20277 (Fig. 8) exhibits a much more mottled pattern than seen in other members of the type series or in L. rex. This is dominated by brick red and dusky brown to smoky white dorsal markings, including a series of light lateral blotches. The ocellus near the limb insertion is bright white with a blackish surround. Venter of throat and chest bright white; abdomen, thighs and tail venter yellow (between pale greenish yellow and sulphur yellow) with area of β-glands trogon yellow (based on MVZ 266137, Fig. 7B). The iris is ...
Context 2
... SPECIES OF DWARF GECKO FROM MOZAMBIQUE the most proximal pair remaining separated by three granules. Dorsal surfaces of limbs cinnamon brown, with irregular lighter markings. Body venter smoky white with no markings or speckling. Gular region suffused with pale sulphur yellow and bearing medium neutral gray markings (Fig. 6C, yellow lacking in paratype MVZ 266137 - Fig. 7D). Dorsum of tail cinnamon brown with lighter chevron pattern (kingfisher rufous to pale pinkish buff), laterally exhibiting 19 cinnamon brown rectangular markings separated by kingfisher rufous background with minute pale pinkish buff spots, ventrally smoky white suffused with grey posteriorly. Coloration in life. Recently euthanized specimens prior to fixation (Figs. 6A, 7A) are smoke gray to cinnamon-drab in background coloration with darker brown to black markings and a paler thick dorsolateral stripe. In the holotype this stripe contains a series of well-defined circular to oval markings ranging from cinnamon-drab anteriorly to cream white posteriorly. The ocellus anterior to the forelimb insertion is bright white with a black border. In paratype MVZ 266137 the pale dorsolateral stripe extends to the posterior border of the orbit. Paratype PEM R20277 (Fig. 8) exhibits a much more mottled pattern than seen in other members of the type series or in L. rex. This is dominated by brick red and dusky brown to smoky white dorsal markings, including a series of light lateral blotches. The ocellus near the limb insertion is bright white with a blackish surround. Venter of throat and chest bright white; abdomen, thighs and tail venter yellow (between pale greenish yellow and sulphur yellow) with area of β-glands trogon yellow (based on MVZ 266137, Fig. 7B). The iris is ...
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... The study of African inselbergs and other "sky-islands" has been a topic of great interest in recent years for a broad scope of scientists, from conservation biologists to systematists. This is especially true for East-African Afromontane inselberg regions, as in the case of Mount Namuli and Mount Mabu in Mozambique (e.g., Timberlake et al. 2009;Portik et al. 2013aPortik et al. , 2013b or Mount Mulanje in Malawi (Curran et al. 2012). Due to this interest, in recent years several new endemic animal species, such as amphibians Conradie et al. 2018), reptiles (Branch et al. 2005;Branch and Bayliss 2009;Branch and Tolley 2010;Portik et al. 2013b;Branch et al. 2014Branch et al. , 2019Marques et al. 2019Marques et al. , 2020Marques et al. , 2023aMarques et al. , 2023b, invertebrates (Congdon et al. 2010;Daniels and Bayliss 2012;Bilton 2014;Daniels et al. 2014Daniels et al. , 2020, and mammals (Monadjem et al. 2010;Taylor et al. 2012;Simmons et al. 2021) have been described from inselbergs across Africa. ...
... This is especially true for East-African Afromontane inselberg regions, as in the case of Mount Namuli and Mount Mabu in Mozambique (e.g., Timberlake et al. 2009;Portik et al. 2013aPortik et al. , 2013b or Mount Mulanje in Malawi (Curran et al. 2012). Due to this interest, in recent years several new endemic animal species, such as amphibians Conradie et al. 2018), reptiles (Branch et al. 2005;Branch and Bayliss 2009;Branch and Tolley 2010;Portik et al. 2013b;Branch et al. 2014Branch et al. , 2019Marques et al. 2019Marques et al. , 2020Marques et al. , 2023aMarques et al. , 2023b, invertebrates (Congdon et al. 2010;Daniels and Bayliss 2012;Bilton 2014;Daniels et al. 2014Daniels et al. , 2020, and mammals (Monadjem et al. 2010;Taylor et al. 2012;Simmons et al. 2021) have been described from inselbergs across Africa. Several studies have also provided inventories of the herpetofauna (Michael et al. 2008;Kirchhof et al. 2010;Conradie et al. 2016a;Bittencourt-Silva et al. 2020) and plant diversity (Rabarimanarivo et al. 2019;Porembski and Barthlott 2000;Burke 2003;Kandziora et al. 2022;Brand et al. 2019) of these inselbergs across the continent. ...
... Lygodactylus baptistai appears to be the single representative of this lineage in southwestern Africa. Morphologically it is also more similar to those species found on inselbergs of Mozambique such as L. rex Broadley, 1963and L. regulus Portik, Travers, Bauer & Branch, 2013(Portik et al. 2013b) than to the other species known from Angola, L. angolensis Bocage, 1896and L. nyaneka Marques, Ceríaco, Buehler, Bandeira, Janota & Bauer, 2020, both restricted to Miombo forested areas, or L. lawrencei Hewitt, 1926, an arid zone specialist. Comments. ...
The Serra da Neve inselberg in Namibe Province, southwestern Angola is the second highest peak of Angola with an elevation of 2489 m. It remains one of the least explored regions in the country, despite several endemic species having been recently described from this inselberg. Here we provide an inventory of the amphibian and reptile species ocurring in Serra da Neve and compare its fauna with that of the surrounding habitats at lower elevations. We also examine the phylogenetic affinities of the inselberg taxa. A total of 59 herpetological taxa were recorded for the Serra da Neve inselberg and its immediate surroundings. These include 11 species of amphibians, belonging to nine genera and seven different families, and 48 species of reptiles, belonging to 32 genera and 12 families. Of these, one amphibian and seven reptiles from seven different genera are strictly endemic, making the inselberg the richest region in southwestern Africa with respect to strict endemics, with one endemic reptile taxa per 127 km². Not surprisingly, most of the recorded taxa belong to clades that are endemic, or at least strongly associated, with southern Africa, but two are representatives of central African clades, and another two are more closely related to eastern African highland taxa. We also provide comments on the threats to the conservation of this endemic-rich inselberg.
... Jacobson 1992Jacobson , 1994Pasteur 1995;Puente et al. 2009). the establishment of molecular studies resulted in further modifications of Pasteur's species groups (Röll et al. 2010;Portik et al. 2013;travers et al. 2014;Mezzasalma et al. 2017;Gippner et al. 2021). Pasteur (1965) also provided the first hypothesis on the phylogeny and biogeography of dwarf geckos. ...
Diurnal dwarf geckos of the genus Lygodactylus are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and live in highly diverse habitats. The genus currently comprises 79 species and several candidates for new species or subspecies. Most of these taxa occur in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, with only two described species in South America. Although the main center of diversity of Lygodactylus currently is Africa, the genus probably has a Malagasy origin, followed by two or three independent transoceanic dispersal events between Madagascar and Africa and one trans-Atlantic dispersal from Africa to South America. A few species colonised islands in the Western Indian Ocean belonging to the Zanzibar Archipelago and to the Îles Éparses. Here we examined L. grotei pakenhami from Pemba Island, L. insularis from Juan de Nova, and L. verticillatus from Europa Island to clarify their taxonomic status and their origin. Concerning L. grotei pakenhami and L. insularis, preceding studies pointed to a relation to species of the African L. capensis group. In contrast, L. verticillatus on Europa Island is considered to be conspecific with Malagasy populations. Therefore, we conducted a phylogenetic study of the African L. capensis group and the Malagasy L. verticillatus group, and examined color pattern, selected morphological characters and two mitochondrial markers (ND2 for African and 16S rRNA for Malagasy Lygodactylus). Lygodactylus grotei pakenhami from Pemba and L. grotei from mainland Africa cannot be distinguished by their scalation, but their reciprocal monophyly suggested by mitochondrial DNA, conspicuously different coloration (both in adults and hatchlings) and their high genetic distances (16.3% in ND2) support the hypothesis that these taxa represent two distinct species. Consequently, we elevate L. grotei pakenhami to species level, as Lygodactylus pakenhami Loveridge, 1941. Lygodactylus pakenhami is endemic to Pemba Island which was possibly separated from the African mainland during the late Miocene or Early Pliocene (6 million years ago). The simplest explanation for the existence of L. pakenhami on Pemba is vicariance. A recent, human-mediated transportation is excluded, as the molecular data clearly indicate a longer period of isolation. Lygodactylus insularis has been supposed to be related to the taxa ‘capensis’ or ‘grotei’. However, it is impossible to discern the relationship of L. insularis, L. capensis and L. grotei by means of scalation or coloration alone. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal that L. insularis is embedded within the L. capensis group, clearly indicating its African origin. The single gene (ND2) as well as the multigene analyses fully support a closer common origin of L. insularis and L. capensis than of L. insularis and L. grotei. However, the position of L. insularis within the clade formed by L. insularis, L. nyaneka, L. capensis sensu stricto and six L. aff. capensis groups is not clearly resolved. Lygodactylus insularis is endemic on Juan de Nova Island, an old low elevation atoll. That all L. insularis mitochondrial sequences are very similar to each other and together form a monophyletic lineage is in agreement with the hypothesis of a single dispersal event to the island. For the L. verticillatus population from Europa Island our mitochondrial data suggest close relationships to conspecific samples from the coastal regions of south-western Madagascar. As we found no relevant morphological or genetic differences between the insular and the Malagasy populations of L. verticillatus, and no remarkable genetic variation within the monophyletic lineage on Europa, we suggest a single, very recent dispersal event, perhaps human-mediated. Although the genus Lygodactylus colonised Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, South America and some islands in the Western Indian Ocean, it seems—compared to other lizard genera—to be only moderately successful in transoceanic long-distance dispersal.
... Most of these recent expeditions form part of an ongoing biological focus on the high-altitude mountains of northern Mozambique resulting in the discovery of the largest patch of contiguous rainforest in southern Africa at Mount Mabu . To date several species new to science have been discovered from Mount Namuli (including endemic and shared endemic species), covering numerous taxonomic groups (Branch and Bayliss, 2009;Daniels and Bayliss, 2012;Portik et al., 2013b;Branch et al., 2014Branch et al., , 2019Bayliss et al., 2016Bayliss et al., , 2018Bayliss et al., , 2019Kennerley and Peterhans, 2016;van Velzen et al., 2016;Conradie et al., 2018). Although the biological influences are not completely understood, evidence exists within certain taxonomic groups to suggest that the species assemblages across the Afromontane Archipelagos of southeast Africa are old in origin inferring a long period of forest isolation, particularly evident in the butterfly fauna (Congdon et al., 2010). ...
Some emerging and reemerging diseases have been associated with certain species of bats. These diseases have emerged in anthropogenic environments where the conditions for spillover of infectious agents between bats, domestic animals, and humans are present. Mexico is the country with the fourth highest bat diversity in the world, and some of these bat species live in anthropogenic environments such as a backyard production system. The objective of this study was to analyze the virome of three species of bats (Artibeus spp., Macrotus waterhousii and Pteronotus parnellii) that inhabit roosts near rural backyard farms and have large geographic distributions. Rectal swabs were taken and analyzed by the next-generation sequencing (NGS). Thus, it was possible to study the virome of these bat species which has not been previously reported. In one of them, P. parnellii, sequences of the family Coronaviridae were found. The detected viral communities of these three bat species included mostly bacteriophages while showing low numbers for known animal viruses. Viral diversities varied among the species studied and differed from previous studies. The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the virome of bat species which have large geographical distributions and, as in this case, inhabit anthropogenic habitats differing from intensive farms or urban settelments.
... Most of these recent expeditions form part of an ongoing biological focus on the high-altitude mountains of northern Mozambique resulting in the discovery of the largest patch of contiguous rainforest in southern Africa at Mount Mabu . To date several species new to science have been discovered from Mount Namuli (including endemic and shared endemic species), covering numerous taxonomic groups (Branch and Bayliss, 2009;Daniels and Bayliss, 2012;Portik et al., 2013b;Branch et al., 2014Branch et al., , 2019Bayliss et al., 2016Bayliss et al., , 2018Bayliss et al., , 2019Kennerley and Peterhans, 2016;van Velzen et al., 2016;Conradie et al., 2018). Although the biological influences are not completely understood, evidence exists within certain taxonomic groups to suggest that the species assemblages across the Afromontane Archipelagos of southeast Africa are old in origin inferring a long period of forest isolation, particularly evident in the butterfly fauna (Congdon et al., 2010). ...
The ecology of the high-altitude mountains of northern Mozambique is understudied in comparison to surrounding countries. A series of biological surveys have focused on filling this data gap, with Mount Namuli in Zambezia Province one of the focal sites
of these expeditions. A biological survey of Mount Namuli in 2009 resulted in the collection of five specimens of a horseshoe bat species (Rhinolophidae) that is here described as a new species from Mozambique. Morphologically, the new species is very similar to Rhinolophus maendeleo Kock, Csorba and Howell, 2000 of the adami-group, but lacks some key morphological characters of this group (large ears, narrow skull, long palate). Molecular reconstructions clearly suggest the new species belongs to the capensis�group, but no members of the adami-group were included in this analysis (due to lacking data). It is thus unclear whether this unexpected phylogenetic position reflects morphological convergences between members of the adami- and capensis-groups, or
whether the morphology-based adami-group should be reconsidered. The new species and R. maendeleo share similar external and craniodental measurements, but can be distinguished based on a number of key characters. These include the presence of a bony bar forming the interorbital foramena, rostrum shape, ear length and highly differing bacular morphologies. It also differs from the genetically closely related R. denti Thomas, 1904, R. swinnyi Gough, 1908 (including two recently described cryptic species) and R. simulator Andersen, 1904 by non-overlapping external and cranial measurements. The new species echolocates at a mean peak frequency of 76.9 kHz and shows an affinity to forest habitats, which are highly threatened in the surrounding region. It joins other coastal and montane forest endemics in defining the bat fauna of south-eastern Africa.
... Southern African gekkonids have undergone a pattern of in situ diversification, which has generated numerous micro-endemic and unique species Bauer & Menegon 2006;Rocha et al. 2011;Portik et al. 2013;Travers et al. 2014;Branch et al. 2017Branch et al. , 2021Marques et al. 2020;Ceríaco et al. 2020a;. This is especially true among southern African leaf-toed geckos, where many representatives exhibit restricted ranges and specialized habitat requirements (Branch & Bauer 1992;Bauer et al. 1997;Bauer & Menegon 2006;Haacke 2008;Funnell et al. 2012;Vaz Pinto et al. 2019). ...
Here we provide the first phylogenetic analysis that include Afrogecko ansorgii and a detailed morphological comparison with other species of leaf-toed geckos. For this purpose, we used two mitochondrial (16S, ND2) and four nuclear (RAG1, RAG2, CMOS, PDC) genes to produce a robust phylogenetic reconstruction. This allowed us to show that A. ansorgii is not related as previously believed to circum-Indian Ocean leaf-toed geckos and is rather more closely related to other Malagasy leaf-toed geckos. Additionally, we explore and compare osteological variation in A. ansorgii skulls through High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography with previously published material. This allowed us to describe herein a new genus, Bauerius gen. nov., and additionally provide a detailed redescription of the species (including the first description of male material), supplementing the limited original description and type series, which consisted of only two females.
... Furthermore, he categorized the species of Lygodactylus from a morphological and biogeographical perspective into four African and three Malagasy "phyla", i.e., hypothesized major clades, and within these, into a total of 12 species groups (Pasteur, 1965). In the following years several new species were described and sorted into this classification (Pasteur, 1967;Pasteur and Broadley, 1988;Jacobsen, 1992Jacobsen, , 1994Portik et al., 2013). Moreover, Puente et al. (2009) examined almost all available material of Malagasy Lygodactylus using 24 morphological features, divided them into four new groups and left four species unassigned. ...
... Within the L. scheffleri group, the available sequences of L. gravis and L. conradti were highly similar, suggesting either a need for taxonomic revision or a misidentification of a part of the voucher specimens involved (from Röll et al., 2010;Travers et al., 2014). The already well-resolved phylogeny within the clade containing the Afromontane L. rex, L. bonsi and L. regulus, published by Portik et al. (2013) and Travers et al. (2014), was confirmed by our analysis. Because the original L. rex group and L. bonsi group were found to be nonmonophyletic (Travers et al., 2014), we here include these three species in a comprehensively defined L. bonsi group, given that L. bonsi Pasteur, 1962a has historical priority over L. rex Broadley, 1963. ...
The 71 currently known species of dwarf geckos of the genus Lygodactylus are a clade of biogeographic interest due to their occurrence in continental Africa, Madagascar, and South America. Furthermore, because many species are morphologically cryptic, our knowledge of species-level diversity within this genus is incomplete, as indicated by numerous unnamed genetic lineages revealed in previous molecular studies. Here we provide an extensive multigene phylogeny covering 56 of the named Lygodactylus species, four named subspecies, and 34 candidate species of which 19 are newly identified in this study. Phylogenetic analyses, based on ∼ 10.1 kbp concatenated sequences of eight nuclear-encoded and five mitochondrial gene fragments, confirm the monophyly of 14 Lygodactylus species groups, arranged in four major clades. We recover two clades splitting from basal nodes, one comprising exclusively Malagasy species groups, and the other containing three clades. In the latter, there is a clade with only Madagascar species, which are followed by a clade containing three African and one South American species groups, and its sister clade containing six African and two Malagasy species groups. Relationships among species groups within these latter clades remain weakly supported. We reconstruct a Lygodactylus timetree based on a novel fossil-dated phylotranscriptomic tree of squamates, in which we included data from two newly sequenced Lygodactylus transcriptomes. We estimate the crown diversification of Lygodactylus started at 46 mya, and the dispersal of Lygodactylus among the main landmasses in the Oligocene and Miocene, 35-22 mya, but emphasize the wide confidence intervals of these estimates. The phylogeny suggests an initial out-of-Madagascar dispersal as most parsimonious, but accounting for poorly resolved nodes, an out-of-Africa scenario may only require one extra dispersal step. More accurate inferences into the biogeographic history of these geckos will likely require broader sampling of related genera and phylogenomic approaches to provide better topological support. A survey of morphological characters revealed that most of the major clades and species groups within Lygodactylus cannot be unambiguously characterized, either by unique character states or by a diagnostic combination of character states. Thus, any future taxonomic work will likely benefit from integrative, phylogenomic approaches.
... These microhabitats are frequently separated from other suitable microhabitats by comparatively long distances, so these species could be considered as allopatric, which could conceivably lead to rapid speciation. This pattern has been reported from other gecko species (Portik et al. 2013;Travers et al.2014). As genetic changes can establish themselves well before any significant and consistent morphological differences develop between populations (see Branch et al. 2014), the lack of morphological differences between the detected morphologically-identical Afroedura sp. ...
Four new species of flat geckos in the Afroedura bogerti Loveridge, 1944 group are described from south-western and west-central Angola. The description of these new species significantly restricts the distribution range of typical A. bogerti , a morphologically very similar species, from which they differ genetically by 5.9–12% divergence for the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Morphologically and genetically, Angolan Afroedura are divided into two main groups: a mostly south-western coastal group and a west-central inland/highland group. These two groups are further divisible into three and two subgroups respectively, all geographically isolated, differing by a combination of the following features: colouration, average adult size, number of mid-body scale rows, number of scale rows on dorsal and ventral surface of each tail verticil and if nostril scales are in contact or not. All five Angolan species are morphologically distinguishable and in agreement with the molecular results. An updated dichotomous key to the Afroedura transvaalica group is provided. The new discovery adds to a growing number of endemic Pro-Namib reptiles described from Angola in recent years.
... Little extensive fieldwork was subsequently conducted, with major works which incorporated Mozambique herpetofauna such as Fitzsimons [6], Channing (2001) and Du Preez and Carruthers [7], based on incidentally collected specimens housed in various museums. More recently Broadley [8,9] [14,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]). Although numerous records are available for some parts of the country, many areas, especially in the north, remain poorly surveyed [25] Mozambique adopted the Convention for Biological Biodiversity (CBD), and ractified in 1995, envisages a conservation of biodiversity, sustainable utilization of its components benefit sharing arising from utilization of genetic resources, effective managent of protected areas as well as ex-situ conservation of biodiversity (Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs, [29]). ...
Diversity of amphibians and reptiles was studied at Chiremera locality in Manica Province, Mozambique. To the best of our knowledge, no herpetofauna study has been done at the Chiremera locality. Globally the herpetofauna of Mozambique remains poorly documented compared to other areas of southern Africa [1]. The study aims to assess the diversity of amphibians and reptiles at Chiremera locality. The data was collected using two techniques: Visual Search and Intercept and pit fall traps. The data was collected in two habitat types: wild areas and human altered areas. We recorded on the wild areas 91 individual of amphibians (18 species, 10 genera and 9 families). The human altered areas had a total of 27 individual amphibians, (4 species, 4 genera and 4 families). Hemisus marmoratus (marbled snout-burrower) was the most abundant species in the two habitats, accounting for 26.3% of all individuals identified. The Shannon winner of amphibians was higher at the wild areas (H '= 2, 1) and lower in the human altered area (H' = 1, 2). A total of 24 individual reptiles were recorded on the wild areas (7 species, 7 genera and 5 families). In contrast to human altered areas we recorded (5 species, 3 Genera, and 3 families). Bitis arietans (puff adder) was the most abundant reptile accounting for 26% of all individuals identified. The Shannon wiener of reptiles was (H’=1, 6) at the wild areas and (H’=1, 5) at the human altered areas. Four rare species namely Hyperolius acuticeps (sharp-headed long reed frog), Hyperolius benguellensis (Benguella long reed frog), Ptychadena subpunctata (spotted ridged frog) all amphibians and Naja mossambica (Mozambique spitting cobra) - reptile were detected during our study. The result of the current study revealed that effect of human altered areas on the richness and abundance of amphibians and reptiles.
... A checklist of the amphibians derived from these surveys was subsequently published (Ohler and Frétey 2014). Together, these surveys resulted in the discovery of new species and in the range expansion of several species of crustaceans (Daniels and Bayliss 2012), butterflies (Bayliss et al. 2016; Bayliss et al. 2018; Van Velzen et al. 2016),amphibians(Conradie et al. 2018b; Farooq et al. 2015; Farooq and Conradie 2015), mammals(Monadjem et al. 2010; Taylor et al. 2012) and reptiles(Branch and Bayliss 2009;Branch et al. 2014;Branch et al. 2017;Branch et al. 2005;Branch and Tolley 2010;Branch et al. 2019;Broadley and Farooq 2013;Broadley and Measey 2016;Portik et al. 2013b;Verburgt et al. 2018). ...
... Information on morphological characters of species and/or type material that could not be examined, as well as supplemental data for all Lygodactylus was obtained from the relevant literature (e.g., Bocage 1895Bocage , 1896Hewitt 1926aHewitt , 1932FitzSimons 1943;Loveridge 1947;Pasteur 1965Pasteur [1964; Röll et al. 2010;Travers et al. 2014). External morphological analyses followed the procedures of Bauer (2002Bauer ( , 2003, Portik et al. (2013) and Malonza et al. (2016Malonza et al. ( , 2019. Dorsal and ventral background color and pattern, including throat were also observed. ...
At present the genus Lygodactylus is represented by three species in Angola confirmed by voucher specimens-L. angolensis, L. bradfieldi, and L. capensis-and two others believed to be present, but without specimens with precise localities, L. chobiensis and L. lawrencei. We present a detailed taxonomic revision of the group in Angola and describe three new species, Lygodactylus baptistai sp. nov. L. nyaneka sp. nov. and Lygodactylus tchokwe sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis using the mitochondrial marker ND2, as well as morphological data support the recognition of the new species. In addition, data suggest that specimens historically assigned to L. capensis in Angola represent misidentifications of L. nyaneka sp. nov. and L. tchokwe sp. nov. We revisit the identity of Lygodactylus laurae, a junior synonym of L. angolensis. We also present the first confirmed record of L. lawrencei in the country, using both morphological and molecular data. The description of the new species and the revision of the taxonomic identity of the Angolan populations of the genus, raises the number of species occurring in the country to five. A key to the Angolan species is presented.
