Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926

Ceríaco, L. M. P., De Sá, S., Bandeira, S., Valério, H., Stanley, E. L., Kuhn, A. L., Marques, M. P., Vindum, J. V., Blackburn, D. C. & Bauer, A. M., 2016, 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, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (2), pp. 15-61 : 26-27

BARNARD’S NAMIB DAY GECKO – Fig. 8

Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926

MATERIAL.— Approximately 7.35 km north-west (by road) of Pico Azevedo , 7 December 2013, 15º28ʹ30.7ʺS, 12º27ʹ47.5ʺE, 420 m ( CAS 254759 , CAS 254761 ); Omauha Lodge, 4 December 2013, 16º12ʹ1.2ʺS, 12º24ʹ0.1ʺE, 343 m ( CAS 254837 ) ; INP, Rio Curoca crossing, North side of the river, 1 December 2013, 16º18ʹ6.8ʺS, 12º25ʹ13.0ʺE, 206 m ( CAS 254844 ) ; INP, Rio Curoca crossing, south side of the river, 1 December 2013, 16º18ʹ14.7ʺS, 12º25ʹ0.0ʺE, 210 m ( CAS 254846–254847 ) ; INP, Rio Curoca in the Pediva Hot Springs area , 2 December 2013, 16º17ʹ0.93ʺS, 12º33ʹ39.81ʺE, 247 m ( CAS 254852 ) , 16º17ʹ14.3ʺS, 12º33ʹ35.9ʺE, 238 m ( CAS 254856 ) , 16º17ʹ24.01ʺS, 12º33ʹ43.9ʺE, 270 m ( CAS 254863 ) , Namibe-Lubango road, 2 km east (by road) of Mangueiras , south side of the road, 5 December 2013, 15º2ʹ40.8ʺS, 13º9ʹ32.6ʺE, 664 m ( CAS 254890 ) ; NNP, 28 November 2013, 15º46ʹ23.4ʺS, 12º19ʹ58.9ʺE, 264 m ( CAS 254954 ) .

COMMENTS.— Until now, this species has been known only from one published locality in Angola. Laurent (1964a) cites the specimen from a locality “ 60 km on the road from Moçâmedes [presently Namibe] to Sá da Bandeira [presently Lubango]”, the same locality from which he described R. taeniostictus , which we also collected (see account below). This species is widely distributed in northwestern Namibia, occurring as far inland as the Otavi-Grootfontein region, due south of western Cuando Cubango Province. It is rupicolous and can be found on small rocky piles and ridges, as well as on larger boulders. The extent of its distribution in Angola is poorly known, in part becase many records from Namibe and Huila are assignable to a morphologically similar, but undescribed congener (see Rhoptropus sp. below).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Adult Barnard’s Namib Day Gecko, Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926, from Kamanjab, Kunene Region, Namibia. Photo courtesy of Johan Marais.