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Publication
Review of the leaf-litter skinks (Scincidae: Panaspis) from the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands, with the description of a new species
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Leaf-litter skinks of the genus Panaspis are currently represented in
the oceanic islands of the Gulf of Guinea by two species, Panaspis
africana and P. annobonensis. Here we describe a third species,
Panaspis thomensis sp. nov., endemic to São Tomé Island. Data
from previous studies and a new phylogenetic analysis using the
mitochondrial 16S gene shows that the new species is genetically
divergent and reciprocally monophyletic with respect to
P. africana. Morphological data (scalation and morphometry)
identify consistent, yet subtle, phenotypic differences between the
two island populations. We also confirm that P. annobonensis
represents a valid species, sister to the species pair P. africana +
P. thomensis sp. nov., based on both molecular and morphological
evidence. This description raises the number of known Panaspis
species in the Gulf of Guinea oceanic islands to three, with
consequences for the interpretation of local endemicity.
Description
Keywords
Endemism Panaspis africana Panaspis annobonensis Panaspis thomensis sp. nov. . Faculdade de Ciências da Vida
Citation
Leonor B. Soares, Luis M. P. Ceríaco, Mariana P. Marques, Cristiane Bastos-Silveira, Lauren A. Scheinberg, D. James Harris, António Brehm & José Jesus (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, 132-159, DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2017.1413015
Publisher
Taylor and Francis