Species:

Heliobolus bivari  MARQUES et al., 2022

Synonyms:

Heliobolus lugubris  [part]: BRANCH 1998: 161; CERIACO et al. 2016: 56; MARQUES et al. 2018: 213; BRANCH et al. 2019a: 31

Eremias lugubris  [part]: BOCAGE 1895: 31; BOULENGER 1921: 243.

Common names:

Virulundo Bushveld Lizard, Bivar`s Bushveld Lizard (English)
Virulundo-Sonnenrenner (German)

Types:

Holotype: CAS 266287 (adult female), field number AMB 10633.

Terra Typica:

Angola, Namibe Province, Virulundo (-16.2852, 12.9419; 718 m a.s.l.).

Taxonomic notes:

The first records attributable to Heliobolus bivari sp. nov. are those provided by Bocage (1895) from Capangombe and Maconjo, followed by those of Boulenger (1921) from “Konondoto, Mossamedes”. After decades without published records, Ceríaco et al. (2016) and Branch and Tolley (2017) provided additional localities for the species in the Namibe Province. All these records were originally identified as H. lugubris. Branch and Tolley (2017) presented the first evidence that the Angolan populations of Heliobolus, namely those in Namibe, western Huíla and Benguela provinces, corresponded to two putative new taxa: Heliobolus sp. 1 and Heliobolus sp. 2, the first of which is referable to Heliobolus bivari sp. nov.

MARQUES et al., 2022

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Marques, M.P. & Ceríaco, L.M.P. & Heinicke, M.P. & Chehouri, R.M. & Conradie, W. & Tolley, K.A. & Bauer, A.M. (2022) -  The Angolan bushveld lizards, genus Heliobolus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Lacertidae): Integrative taxonomy and the description of two new species. -  Vertebrate Zoology, 72: 745–769 (DOI 10.3897/vz.72.e85269).    

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  The genus Heliobolus comprises four recognized species, all endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Of these, only Heliobolus lugubris occurs in southern Africa, its distribution extending from Angola in the west to Mozambique in the east and reaching as far south as parts of northern South Africa. Like many of the reptile species that occur in southern Africa, Heliobolus lugubris is poorly studied, and preliminary investigation suggested that it may contain cryptic diversity. The present work focusses on the Angolan population of H. lugubris and uses an integrative taxonomic approach based on morphological, coloration and DNA sequence data. The results indicate that some of the current and historical specimens of H. lugubris from Angola do not correspond to the nominotypical form, and that differences between specimens suggest the presence of two additional species, described here as Heliobolus bivari sp. nov. from the southernmost xeric/desertic regions and plateau of Namibe Province, southwestern Angola and H. crawfordi sp. nov. from the Serra da Neve inselberg north through the sub-desert coastal regions of northern Namibe, Benguela, and Kwanza Sul provinces. Nominotypical Heliobolus lugubris is confirmed to occur in Cuando Cubango Province, southeastern Angola.