Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters, 1877)

Sánchez-Vialas, Alberto, Calvo-Revuelta, Marta & Riva, Ignacio De La, 2022, Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea, Zootaxa 5202 (1), pp. 1-197 : 59

Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters, 1877)

Herpetosaura occidentalis Peters, 1877: 416 . Type locality: “Cameruns”. Cameroon.

Scelotes occidentalis (Peters, 1877) : Werner 1898: 530.

Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters, 1877) : Tornier 1901: 62.

Scelotes schebeni Sternfeld, 1910a . Type locality: “Windhuk”, Windhoek , Namibia.

Melanoseps occidentalis zairensis Brygoo & Roux-Esteve, 1982: 1187 . Type locality: “Dekese”, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Distribution. It occurs in Central Africa, from Cameroon to Central African Republic and Angola. In Equatorial Guinea it has been recorded in Bioko at Musola ( Boulenger 1906) ( Map 15C ).

Comments. Morphologically similar and likely conspecific to Melanoseps poensis ( Brygoo & Roux-Esteve 1982) . Further studies are needed to ascertain the identity and distribution of these taxa across Bioko, mainly through the revision of topotypic specimens of M. poensis , as the type series is lost (see comments in the account of M. poensis ). The specimen recorded by Boulenger (1906) housed in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova was examined by Brygoo & Roux-Esteve (1982), supporting its identity as Melanoseps occidentalis .

Specimens examined. No specimens of this species have been found in the examined collections.

Figures

MAPS 15 A–C. Distribution maps for Equatorial Guinean records of (A) Feylinia currori; (B) Feylinia elegans; (C) Melanoseps occidentalis.