Herpetological Survey of Iona National Park and Namibe Regional Natural Park, with a Synoptic List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Namibe Province, Southwestern Angola Author Ceríaco, L. M. P. Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua da Escola Politécnica, 58, 1269 - 102 Lisbon, Portugal. & Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. luisceriaco@netcabo.pt Author De Sá, S. Instituto Nacional da Biodiversidade e Áreas de Conservação, Ministério do Ambiente de Angola, Centralidade do Kilamba, Rua 26 de Fevereiro, quarteirão Nimi ya Lukemi, edíficio Q 11, 3 ° andar, Angola. Author Bandeira, S. Instituto Nacional da Biodiversidade e Áreas de Conservação, Ministério do Ambiente de Angola, Centralidade do Kilamba, Rua 26 de Fevereiro, quarteirão Nimi ya Lukemi, edíficio Q 11, 3 ° andar, Angola. Author Valério, H. Instituto Nacional da Biodiversidade e Áreas de Conservação, Ministério do Ambiente de Angola, Centralidade do Kilamba, Rua 26 de Fevereiro, quarteirão Nimi ya Lukemi, edíficio Q 11, 3 ° andar, Angola. Author Stanley, E. L. Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. Author Kuhn, A. L. American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79 th Street, New York, New York 10024, USA. & City University of New York, Graduate Center, 365 5 th Ave., New York, New York, 10016, USA. Author Marques, M. P. Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua da Escola Politécnica, 58, 1269 - 102 Lisbon, Portugal. Author Vindum, J. V. Department of Herpetology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, California 94118, USA. Author Blackburn, D. C. Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. Author Bauer, A. M. Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085 - 1699, USA. text Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 2016 2016-04-29 63 2 15 61 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.11066801 0068-547X 11066801 DESERT PLATED LIZARD – Fig. 17 Gerrhosaurus skoogi (Andersson, 1916) MATERIAL .— Praia do Navio coastal dunes, ca 124 km SSW of Namibe , 8 December 2013 , 16º16ʹ20.4ʺS , 11º49ʹ53.9ʺE , 8 m ( CAS 254772 ) , 16º16ʹ29.1ʺS , 11º49ʹ50.0ʺE , 8 m ( CAS 254774 ) , 16º16ʹ42.1ʺS , 11º49ʹ21.7ʺE , 8 m ( CAS 254777 ) . COMMENTS .— This species was encountered basking at the sun in the coastal dunes SSW of Namibe , especially in dune valleys areas. When approached, these lizards dive into the sand, disappearing rapidly. The species is easily identified by its unique morphology and peculiar ecology. Sand trails resulting from the specimens walking in the dunes were noted. A total of five specimens were collected, three of which are at CAS and two at INBAC . Several additional animals were observed in the area but not collected. Males have a distinct black throat and venter, and are considerably larger than the females. The only published Angolan records are from the type locality, Porto Alexandre, between Mossamedes and the mouth of the Cunene River (Andersson 1916; Fitzsimons 1953 ), approximately in the same area as our material. Although the species is the most distinctive of all Gerrhosaurus (Nance 2007) , it is unambiguously nested among more typical taxa, implying its unique features are relatively recently derived autapomorphies (Lamb et al. 2003; Lamb and Bauer 2013).