Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea
Author
Sánchez-Vialas, Alberto
Author
Calvo-Revuelta, Marta
0000-0002-8628-1055
Author
Riva, Ignacio De La
0000-0001-5064-4507
albertosv@mncn.csic.es
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-11-03
5202
1
1
197
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5202.1.1
journal article
182444
10.11646/zootaxa.5202.1.1
45ba25c1-47a9-4001-93d9-294815bf37e7
1175-5326
7285600
BF4831D2-D98B-4265-9138-03DB8607B826
Philothamnus carinatus
(Anderson, 1901)
Figure 18C
Chlorophis carinatus
Andersson, 1901: 9
.
Type
locality: “Mapanja,
Cameroon
” and “
Cameroon
”.
Restricted
to
Mapanja
by
Mertens
(1964).
Philothamnus nigrofasciatus
Buchholz &
Peters, 1875: 199
.
Type
locality: “Cameruns”.
Philothamnus heterodermus carinatus
Andersson, 1901
:
Loveridge 1951: 6
.
Distribution
. This species is widespread from West Africa (
Guinea
Konakry) to East Africa (
Kenya
) and southward to southern
Democratic Republic of the Congo
. In
Equatorial Guinea
it has been recorded in Bioko at Bococo (
Mertens 1941
;
Loveridge 1958
), Moka (
Mertens 1964a
) and Bahía de San Carlos (
Boulenger 1906
;
Capocaccia 1961a
), and in
Río Muni
at Monte Alén National Park (
Lasso
et al.
2002
), including Monte Mitra (
Gonwouo & Nsang 2005
) (
Map 21B
).
Comments.
All the specimens examined by us have 13 scale rows at mid-body. This species was treated by some authors as a subspecies of
P. heterodermus
(
Loveridge 1958
)
. However, it has been suggested that
P. carinatus
could represent a species complex (
Engelbrecht
et al.
2019
). It is formed by at least two main clades, one ranging across Gabon-western
Republic of the Congo
and the other occurring at the eastern of
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(
Engelbrecht
et al.
2019
). The
Philothamnus carinatus
species complex is sister to
P. heterodermus
(
Engelbrecht
et al.
2019
)
.
The specimen recorded from
Bahía
de San Carlos, Bioko, by
Boulenger (1906)
was subsequently cited by
Loveridge (1958)
as
P. heterodermus heterodermus
and re-identified by
Capocaccia (1961a)
as
P. heterodermus carinatus
. Based on the number of scale rows at mid-body (13 scale rows), we follow
Capocaccia (1961a)
and Mertens (1964) in considering this specimen as
P. carinatus
.
Specimens examined.
Eleven
specimens.
Río Muni
:
Miboman
, 1985–1986 (
EBD 20927–20930
)
;
Miboman
(
30 km
from Niefang),
25 February 1987
(
EBD
25018,
EBD 25020–25021
)
;
Miboman (road to Niefang),
28 July 1987
(
EBD
27548)
;
Miboman,
06 September 1986
(
EBD
20792)
;
Ayamiken,
01 August 1986
(EBD 25019, EBD 25022)
.