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Issue: Vol. 5569 No. 3: 15 Jan. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-01-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5569.3.2
Page range: 439-458
Abstract views: 133
PDF downloaded: 4

A new species of Namib Day Gecko (Gekkonidae: Rhoptropus Peters, 1869) from the Serra da Neve inselberg, southwestern Angola

BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics; Biodiversity and Land Planning; CIBIO; Campus de Vairão; 4485-661; Vairão; Portugal; CIBIO; Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; InBIO Laboratório Associado; Campus de Vairão; Universidade do Porto; 4485-661 Vairão; Portugal; Departamento de Biologia; Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto; Rua do Campo Alegre 1021; 4169-007 Porto; Portugal
BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics; Biodiversity and Land Planning; CIBIO; Campus de Vairão; 4485-661; Vairão; Portugal; CIBIO; Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; InBIO Laboratório Associado; Campus de Vairão; Universidade do Porto; 4485-661 Vairão; Portugal; Departamento de Biologia; Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto; Rua do Campo Alegre 1021; 4169-007 Porto; Portugal; Section of Amphibians and Reptiles; Carnegie Museum of Natural History; 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15213-4080; USA
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg; 91054 Erlangen; Germany
University of Michigan–Dearborn;4901 Evergreen Rd; Dearborn; MI 48218; USA
Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship; Villanova University; 800 Lancaster Avenue; Villanova; PA 19085; USA
BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics; Biodiversity and Land Planning; CIBIO; Campus de Vairão; 4485-661; Vairão; Portugal; CIBIO; Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; InBIO Laboratório Associado; Campus de Vairão; Universidade do Porto; 4485-661 Vairão; Portugal; Departamento de Vertebrados; Museu Nacional; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Quinta da Boa Vista; São Cristóvão; Rio de Janeiro - RP 20940-040; Brazil
Reptilia Africa endemism escarpment systematics taxonomy

Abstract

The genus Rhoptropus comprises nine recognized species of diurnal geckos endemic to the arid regions of Angola and Namibia. Seven species occur in Angola, including the widespread R. boultoni and the poorly known Angolan endemics R. benguellensis and R. montanus, formerly recognized as subspecies of R. boultoni. While R. benguellensis is relatively widespread in the Angolan Escarpment highlands, R. montanus is geographically restricted to the Huíla Plateau. Recent fieldwork on the Serra da Neve inselberg, a herpetological diversity hotspot in southwestern Angola, revealed the presence of an undescribed species of Rhoptropus at an elevation of approximately 1600 m. An integrative taxonomic approach combining coloration, morphological and molecular data supports the recognition of this population as a distinct taxonomic unit with affinities to R. montanus, which we describe herein as Rhoptropus nivimontanus sp. nov. The discovery of a new species of Rhoptropus endemic to Serra da Neve is discussed in the biogeographic context of the region.

 

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