Holaspis guentheri Gray, 1863

Lobón-Rovira, Javier, Lobón-Rovira, Baptista, Ninda L, Clark, Tyron, Verburgt, Luke, Jongsma, Gregory Fm, Conradie, Werner, and, Luis Veríssimo, Vaz, Pedro & Pinto, 2025, Filling the gaps: herpetological checklist of Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province (Angola) shed light on one of the most unexplored corners of tropical Central Africa, African Journal of Herpetology 74 (1), pp. 1-59 : 1-59

Holaspis guentheri Gray, 1863

Figure 8F

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Vaku; –4.6323, 12.8937; 319 m a.s.l.; Photographic record .

Identification. A relatively small lizard (SVL = 45–50 mm) with flattened head and body. Head elongated with pointed snout. Dorsum black, bisected by two lateral bright bluishcoloured lines that become creamy-yellow on the head, belly and sides of the tail. This species can be distinguished from its sister taxon ( H. laevis ) by having four yellowbeige lateral stripes (versus six in H. laevis ) and thus we refer our material to H. guentheri .

Biology and distribution. Holaspis guentheri is an arboreal rainforest dweller found actively moving during the day on tree trunks ( Spawls et al. 2018). The species is widely distributed in forests of West and Central Africa, with some scattered records in Uganda, Tanzania and Angola ( Marques et al. 2018; Spawls et al. 2018). In this study, we observed and photographed several individuals moving up and down the trunks of large trees, and once on a very large fallen log in a clearing in mature rainforest which was subject to logging activities in Upper Mayombe.

Figures

Figure 8. Some of the reptile species recorded from from Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province, Angola. Codes in brackets represent field numbers. A. Kinixys erosa (P2.208) from Inhuca. B. Osteolaemus tetraspis (P2.064) from Vaku, Upper Mayombe. C. Chamaeleo dilepis (EI 817), D. Agama congica and E. Gerrhosaurus nigrolineatus from near Nganzi. F. Holaspis guentheri from Vaku, Upper Mayombe. G. H. mabouia (P2.232) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. G. Hemidactylus pfindaensis (EI 1136) from near Nganzi, and I. H. pfindaensis (P2.234) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. J. Lygodactylus aff. laterimaculatus (P3.199) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. K. Feylinia grandisquamis from near Nganzi. L. Panaspis breviceps (P2.205), from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. M. P. cabindae (EI 1135) from near Nganzi. N. Trachylepis albolabris (P3.130) from Mbundu, Lower Mayombe, and O. from near Nganzi. P. T. maculilabris and Q. T. polytropis (P3.218) from Mbundu, Lower Mayombe. R. Dipsadoboa weileri (P3.151) from Mbundu, Lower Mayombe S. Grayia ornata (P3.145) from Chimbete, Lower Mayombe. T. Hapsidophrys smaragdinus (P1.144) from Tando Zinze. U. Dendroaspis jamesoni, from near Nganzi. V. Naja melanoleuca killed by farmers at Nganzi. W. Psammophis mossambicus (EI 809) from near Nganzi. X. Python sebae from a street market in Cabinda City. Photographs by PVP (A–B, G, I–J, L, N, Q), JLR (R–S), TC (T–U, X), LV (C–E, V–W), Alex Rebelo (H, K, M), Rogério Ferreira (F, P).