Cordylus phonolithos Marques, Ceríaco, Stanley, Bandeira, Agarwal & Bauer, 2019

Marques, Mariana P., Parrinha, Diogo, Lopes-Lima, Manuel, Tiutenko, Arthur, Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2024, An island in a sea of sand: a first checklist of the herpetofauna of the Serra da Neve inselberg, southwestern Angola, ZooKeys 1201, pp. 167-217 : 167-217

Cordylus phonolithos Marques, Ceríaco, Stanley, Bandeira, Agarwal & Bauer, 2019

Fig. 7 f

Records.

vic. N’Dolondolo [- 13.8068, 13.1351, 752 m] ( CAS 263581; INBAC / AMB 10272); Rock outcrops near Catchi [- 13.7653, 13.2571, 1645 m] (MUNHAC / MB 03 - 001757 - 001765).

Comments.

This recently described species is only known from the Serra da Neve inselberg and is considered a strict endemic. Cordylus phonolithos was recently described from the inselberg by Marques et al. (2019). It is genetically divergent and morphologically distinguished from the closely related Angolan Escarpment dwelling Cordylus machadoi Laurent, 1964 and the low-elevation species C. namakuiyus Stanley, Ceríaco, Bandeira, Valério, Bates & Branch, 2016 . This species is found in cracks in granite boulders, but sometimes can be seen basking outside or even crossing paths on the ground.

Figures

Figure 7. a Rhoptropus aff. montanus b Heliobolus crawfordi (adult) c Heliobolus crawfordi (juvenile) d Pedioplanis haackei e Pedioplanis serodioi f Cordylus phonolithos g Cordylosaurus subtessellatus h Gerrhosaurus sp. Photographs by AT (a, b, e, f, h) and LMPC (c, d, g).