Panaspis africana ( Gray, 1845 )

Soares, Leonor B., P, Luis M., Ceríaco, Marques, Mariana P., Bastos-, Cristiane, Silveira, Scheinberg, Lauren A., James, D., Harris, and, António Brehm & Jesus, José, 2018, Review of the leaf-litter skinks (Scincidae: Panaspis) from the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands, with the description of a new species, African Journal of Herpetology 67 (2), pp. 132-159 : 147-149

Panaspis africana ( Gray, 1845)

( Figs 5 , 6 )

Mocoa africana ( Gray 1845: 83)

Lygosoma (Mocoa) africanum ( Peters 1874: 162)

Lygosoma africanum (Boulenger 1887: 265; Bocage 1903: 53; Boulenger 1906: 206; Manaças 1958: 185)

Riopa (Panaspis) africanum ( Smith 1937: 229)

Panaspis africana africana ( Fuhn 1972: 261)

Panaspis africana ( Schätti & Loumont 1992: 29; Perret 1973: 605)

Leptosiaphos africana ( Haft 1993: 59, 65)

Afroablepharus africana ( Schmitz et al. 2005; Jesus et al. 2007)

Despite the taxonomic and nomenclatural issues regarding its identity, Panaspis africana is probably one of the most studied and well known species of the Príncipe herpetofauna (see for example Perret 1973 and Haft 1993). The abundance of the species on Príncipe, in forested areas, agricultural fields, but also wherever there is leaf litter, makes it one of the easiest species to locate in the Island of Príncipe.

As noted above and shown in Table 4 , all mensural, and the majority of meristic characters overlap considerably, turning problematic the decision regarding the allocation Gray (1845) holotype, which type locality is imprecise, to one of the two islands. Almost all of mensural and meristic characters of the holotype falls among the overlapping range. The only character that allows a tentative allocation of the original Gray holotype ( Fig. 5 ) to Príncipe population is the separation between the preocular and prefrontal, because of the obtrusion of the posterior supraciliar and the loreal, as noted above, in the São Tomé population the preocular and the prefrontal contact. Consequently, we follow the original suggestion by Jesus et al. (2007), and restrict Mocoa africana type locality to Príncipe Island.

Diagnosis — Panaspis africana . can be distinguished from other Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands Panaspis by the following characteristics 1) preocular and prefrontal scales not in contact; 2) a medium SVL (22 – 47.5 mm); 3) the limbs do not touch each other when adpressed to the body; 4) an high number of paraventral scales (29 – 54); 5) between 7 to 15 lamellae under the fourth toe and 6 to 10 under the fourth finger; 6) an orange-brown coloration on the body.

Variation — Panaspis africana are characterised as small to medium-sized skinks (SVL 22 – 42.5 mm) with tail length approximately the 90% of SVL, robust and tapering smoothly. Head wide and not very acuminate (HW /HL 65,6%), approximately 21% of SVL. Prefrontals always separated. Supraciliaries usually 4, sometimes 5 and rarely 6; 4 supralabials anterior to subocular; enlarged subocular in direct contact with the lip and not reduced basally by the intrusion of adjacent supralabials. Midbody scales rows 23 – 28, paravertebral scales 47 – 64, and paraventral scales 29 – 54. Lamellae beneath the fourth finger 6 – 10, beneath the fourth toe 7 – 15.

Colour — Dark-brown background on flanks and upper side of head, neck, dorsum, legs and tail, with a distinctive dark dorsolateral band, speckled with some light-coloured scales, starting near the tympanum and running along the entire dorsum to the anterior half of the tail ( Fig. 6 ). In some specimens, there are some irregular dark-brown lines in the dorsum, between the two dorsolateral bands. A dark-brown line starts on the top of the prefrontal and extends to the temporal, across the superciliaries. Upper labials exhibit a small whitish blotch, limited anteriorly and posteriorly by a dark band. This blotch extends to the infra labials, and the small dark spots briefly enter into the limits of ventral side of the mandibula. Venter and underside of the tail whitish, immaculate. Female specimens have vivid orange coloration between the cloaca and the anterior part of the tail.

Distribution — Endemic to Príncipe Island, Republic of São Tomé & Príncipe, West Africa.

Habitat and Natural History notes — Similar to the São Tomé form, Panaspis africana occurs in under the fallen leaves of the primary and secondary forests of Príncipe Island. It can sometimes be found at the limits of the forests, in more opened areas. The species is very abundant in areas with leaf litter. These skinks are usually more active during the mornings (until 14:00) and the maximum known altitudinal occurrence is at 528 m, on Pico Papagaio (specimen MB03-001035 ). There are no explicit dietary data for the species, but specimens have been seen consuming small arthropods ( LMPC pers. obs.). Two of the collected or observed specimens had a bifurcated tail ( Fig. 6 ).

Figures

Figure 5. Holotype (BMNH 1946.8.18.05) of Mocoa africana Gray, 1845,from “West Africa” (Photograph: Natural History Museum, London).

Figure 6. ABOVE: Live photograph of a specimen (MUHNAC/MB03-000937) of Panaspis africana (Gray, 1845) (Photograph: Luis Ceríaco) BELOW: Live specimen of Panaspis africana from Príncipe Island presenting a bifurcated tail (Photograph: Luis Ceríaco).