Catalogue |
Corresponding author: Luis M. P. Ceríaco ( luisceriaco@gmail.com ) Corresponding author: Mariana P. Marques ( mptlmarques@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Angelica Crottini
© 2021 Luis M. P. Ceríaco, Diogo Parrinha, Mariana P. Marques.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Ceríaco LMP, Parrinha D, Marques MP (2021) Saving collections: taxonomic revision of the herpetological collection of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisbon (Portugal) with a protocol to rescue abandoned collections. ZooKeys 1052: 83-156. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1052.64607
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The herpetological collections of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisbon, are amongst the most important collections from the former Portuguese territories in Africa and Asia. The collection comprises more than 5000 preserved specimens, including type specimens of nine taxa, Trachylepis adamastor, Trachypelis thomensis, Panaspis thomensis, Naja peroescobari, Dalophia angolensis, Hemidactylus nzingae, Boaedon fradei, Platysaurus maculatus maculatus, and Platysaurus maculatus lineicauda. The collection was abandoned in the early years of 2000s and was at risk of being lost. In this paper the entire collection is reviewed, a catalogue provided of the extant specimens, and a brief account of the history of herpetological research at IICT given. Details are also provided on the recovery of the collection and a protocol to rescue abandoned collections.
Angola, Cabo Verde, East Timor, Goa, Guinea-Bissau, herpetofauna, Macau, Mozambique, Natural History Collections, São Tomé & Príncipe
The zoological collections of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (IICT), Lisbon (Portugal), are amongst the largest and most important biological collections in Portugal. Spanning all major zoological groups, the IICT collections are mostly focused on the fauna of the former Portuguese colonial territories in Africa and Asia. The collection’s geographical coverage is of interest, as they cover areas from where collections are relatively scarce and countries for which the current faunal knowledge is still deficient. While part of the IICT zoological collections have been catalogued and digitised recently (see
Despite its importance, the IICT herpetological collections were abandoned in the late 1990s. Without a fully dedicated curator or collection manager, the collection became degraded and almost completely inaccessible for researchers. Besides the original field books and an incomplete manuscript catalogue, the collections were never fully catalogued or digitised. In 2015 we started a cataloguing and digitisation project for the IICT herpetological collections. This process was followed by a complete evaluation of the conservation status of the collections, the recovery of the specimens that were in critical condition, and the transfer of the entire collection to the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Lisbon. In this paper we provide a comprehensive review of the taxonomic diversity and importance of the IICT herpetological collections, report on the collection recuperation process, and propose a protocol to recover abandoned natural history collections.
Dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century, IICT’s institutional history has been particularly complex, even in the bureaucracy-prone context of Portuguese scientific institutions. Its origins are related to the foundation of the ‘Comissão de Cartografia’ in 1883, but only in 1936 did the institution become more active, when it was renamed ‘Junta das Missões Geográficas e de Investigações Coloniais’. This would not be the last name change of the institution, as it would be renamed ‘Junta de Investigações do Ultramar’ in 1945, ‘Junta de Investigações Científicas do Ultramar’ in 1973, ‘Laboratório Nacional de Investigação Científica Tropical’ in 1979, and finally ‘Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical’ in 1982 (
The leadership of the Centro de Zoologia was appointed to the Portuguese zoologist Fernando Frade Viegas da Costa (1898–1983), commonly known as Fernando Frade (Fig.
The study of the herpetological collections was entrusted to the Portuguese herpetologist Sara Maria Bárbara Marques Manaças (1896–date of death unknown; Fig.
Following the passing of Manaças in the early 1980s, Pinheiro was entrusted with the herpetological collections (Fig.
During the first decades of the twenty-first century, the Centro de Zoologia became increasingly understaffed and research in the collections diminished considerably. This contributed to the degradation of the herpetological collections. Without constant supervision, lacking proper collection management, and housed in two rooms in the basement of the Centro de Zoologia building, which suffered from the lack of climate control, high humidity levels, and no security, the herpetological collections reached a critical situation and were at risk of being irreplaceably lost (Fig.
Herpetological collections reserve rooms in the basement of Centro de Zoologia, IICT, Lisbon, in July 2014 A entrance view of the room dedicated to the reptile collections, note the broken door B another view of the room dedicated to the reptile collections C view of the room dedicated to the amphibian collections D close-up of the poor conservation conditions of preserved specimens. Photographs by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.
After years of uncertainty regarding its future, IICT was formally closed by the Portuguese government on 31 July 2015 (Decreto-Lei 141/2015). With this closure, all the responsibilities of the institution, namely those of research and development, were transferred from the mansion in Rua da Junqueira to the University of Lisbon and its natural history collections were subsequently deposited in the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (
During an initial survey, all the available catalogues, field notebooks, and documentation associated with the collections were located, compiled, and digitised. The available field notebooks (one per major expedition), provided locality data, collecting dates, names of the collectors and/or identification of the expedition, and an assortment of natural history data and observations (Fig.
Documentation associated with the herpetological collection A field notebook of the Apiary Missions in Angola B data sheet associated with São Tomé snakes C data sheet associated with Angolan snakes D Manuscript catalogue of the herpetological collection. The “n° Registo” [record number] is not physically attached to the specimen, making it impossible to link the two. Photographs by Diogo Parrinha.
DiSSCO Distribued System of Scientific Collections;
GBIF Global Biodiversity Information Facility;
iDigBio Integrated Digitized Biocollections;
IICT Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa, Portugal;
INBAC Instituto Nacional da Biodiversidade e Áreas de Conservação, Luanda, Angola;
ISCED Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação, Lubango, Angola;
TCWC Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA;
ZSI Zoological Society of India, India.
All herpetological specimens were located in the
Rehabilitation and revision of the IICT herpetological collections A initial listing of the specimens to be transported B cleaning of the external label C example of internal label, usually attached to individual specimens D general view of the different types of jars and respective conservation issues associated–embrittled and or melted rubber gaskets, oxidized metal stoppers, cracked jars, etc E new standardized ResistAll internal label F IICT herpetology collection after the intervention in the
As the majority of the jars presented structural deficiencies (cracks, melted or embrittled gaskets, rusty/oxidised metal stoppers and/or lids, etc.; Fig.
Some specimens presented critical conservation issues such as being dehydrated due to evaporation of the preservative fluid (Fig.
Examples of problems associated with the IICT herpetological collections A a dehydrated specimen of Gerrhosaurus multilineatus from Angola B a jar with extensive fungal growth on the inside and outside C lipid loss on a snake specimen from Macau D jar in which the preservative fluid has evaporated and the specimen was attacked by insect pests E rotten specimen of Leptopelis due to poor initial fixation and evaporation of the ethanol preservative. Photographs by Mariana P. Marques.
All specimens with locality data were georeferenced. Locality data are reported in the form of decimal degrees and use the WGS 84 map datum. Older (non-GPS) records were georeferenced using the GEOLocate web application (https://www.geo-locate.org). Whenever possible original maps, field books or collectors’ notes were consulted. Elevations are all reported as meters above sea level.
The collections are divided into eight sub-collections, respectively the Cabo Verde collection, the Guinea-Bissau collection, the São Tomé & Príncipe collection, the Angola collection, the Mozambique collection, the Portuguese India collection, the Macau collection, and the East Timor collection. Some specimens from Portugal and other African countries also exist in the collections, but represent a diminutive subset, mostly originating from occasional collecting events by IICT researchers or external donations. Combined, the eight sub-collections hold a total of 5173 specimens (3048 reptiles, 2125 amphibians). The largest sub-collection is that of Cabo Verde (1740 specimens), followed by Mozambique (1181 specimens), Guinea-Bissau (980 specimens), Angola (677 specimens), São Tomé & Príncipe (234 specimens), Macau (318 specimens), Portuguese India – Goa (26 specimens), and East Timor (17 specimens). The specimens were collected in 253 different localities across their respective countries. The collections hold 47 type specimens (two holotypes, 45 paratypes) of nine nominal taxa. Surprisingly, only 76 jars with an unknown number of specimens (due to the poor preservation or total destruction of the specimens) were discarded because they were beyond salvation. Detailed reviews of the different sub-collections are provided in the following accounts.
The herpetofauna of the Cabo Verde archipelago has been reviewed in the past decades and is currently well known. The most recent account of its terrestrial reptiles was published by
This collection comprises a total of 1740 specimens (376 amphibians and 1364 reptiles), composed of one species of amphibians and 17 species and four subspecies of reptiles (Table
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Bufonidae (Gray, 1825) | Sclerophrys Tschudi, 1838 | Sclerophrys regularis (Reuss, 1833) | Brava Island: Fajã D´Água – IICT/A 295–301/1969; Vinagre – IICT/A 273–294/1969; | 376 | |
Santiago Island: Assomada – IICT/A 41–42/1969, 59–66/1969, 170–196/1969, 272/1969; Engenho – IICT/A 43–53/1969, 67–85/1969, 222–224/1969, 231–255/1969, 261–263/1969, 268–271/1969; Boa Entrada – IICT/A 54–58/1969, 86–91/1969, 264–267/1969, 1–11/1972; 18–31/1972; Boa Entrada stream – IICT/A 12–14/1969; Chão de Tanque – IICT/A 27–34/1969; Mato Sancho stream [or Mato Sanches stream] – IICT/A 1–11/1969; Picos – IICT/A 227–230/1969; Picos stream – IICT/A 225–226/1969; Praia Formosa – IICT/A 1–2/1993; Santa Catarina – IICT/A 10/1969, 16–26/1969, 256–260/1969, 32–37/1972, CV1–9, CV11, CV13; São Jorge dos Orgãos – IICT/A 103–169/1969; Sedeguma – IICT/A 35–40/1969, 92–102/1969, 197–214/1969, 15–17/1972; Santiago Island [unknown locality] – IICT/A 12–15/1969; 215–221/1969, CV10; | |||||
São Nicolau Island: Ribeira João – IICT/A 4–21/1970; Ribeira Brava – IICT/A 1–3/1970 | |||||
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 376 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 | Hemidactylus angulatus Hallowell, 1854 | Santo Antão Island: Ponta do Sol – IICT/R 292/1972; Porto Novo – CV18 | 3 | |
Fogo Island: São Filipe – IICT/R 442/1969 | |||||
Hemidactylus sp. | Santo Antão Island: Ponta do Sol, Fantanha – IICT/R CV16 | 1 | |||
Phyllodactylidae Gamble, Bauer, Greenbaum & Jackman, 2008 | Tarentola Gray, 1825 | Tarentola bocagei Vasconcelos, Perera, Geniez, Harris & Carranza, 2012 | São Nicolau Island: between Jucalinho and Carrissal – IICT/R 509–515/1970; Carvoeiro – IICT/R 354–357/1970; Preguiça– IICT/R 167–174/1970; Preguiça Airfield – IICT/R 152–159/1970, 161–166/1970, 175–180/1970, 599–603/1970, 624–631/1970; Ribeira das Queimadas – IICT/R 37/1970; Ribeira Maiamba – IICT/R 135–140/1970; Taboleiro – IICT/R 580–586/1970; São Nicolau Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 48/1970, 58–59/1970, 499–509/1970 | 61 | |
Tarentola cf. caboverdiana Schleich, 1984 | Santo Antão Island: Ponta do Sol – IICT/R 334–338/1972, CV15; Porto Novo – IICT/R 119–134/1972, 145–156/1972, 166–243/1972, 232–/1972; Santo Antão Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 135–144/1972, 246–258/1969 | 124 | |||
Tarentola darwini Joger, 1984 | Santiago Island: Praia – IICT/R CV19; S. João Batista – IICT/R 448–449/1969 | 2 | |||
Tarentola fogoensis Vasconcelos, Perera, Geniez, Harris & Carranza, 2012 | Fogo Island: São Filipe – IICT/R 427–24871969, 435/1969, 439–441/1969, 444–446/1969; Fogo Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 447/1969 | 10 | |||
Tarentola gigas gigas (Bocage, 1875) | Raso Islet: Raso Islet [unknown locality] IICT/R 230–231/1970, 237/1970, 239–271/1970, 363/1970, 367–452/1969, 631–637/1970, CV3 | 128 | |||
Tarentola maioensis Schleich, 1984 | Maio Island: Airport – IICT/R 365–375/1969; Barreiro – IICT/R 377–381/1969; Calheta – IICT/R 349/1969, 358/1969; Lagoa – IICT/R 343–348/1969; Vila de Maio – IICT/R 334–338/1969; Maio Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 339–342/1969, 359–364/1969; 376/1969, 382–389/1969; 391–398/1969 | 61 | |||
Tarentola nicolauensis Schleich, 1984 | São Nicolau Island: between Jucalinho and Carrissal – IICT/R 488–498/1970; between Ribeira Brava and Juncalinho– IICT/R 516–523/1970; Cabeçalinho – IICT/R 548–561/1970; Calejão – IICT/R 212–229/1970, 289–296/1970, 638–650/1970; | 296 | |||
Phyllodactylidae Gamble, Bauer, Greenbaum & Jackman, 2008 | Tarentola Gray, 1825 | Tarentola nicolauensis Schleich, 1984 | Carvoeiro – IICT/R 340–353/1970, 358–362/1970, 598–623/1970; Chanzinha – IICT/R 284–288/1970; Preguiça – IICT/R 141–151/1970; Perguiça port – IICT/R 297–315/1970; Ribeira da Prainha – IICT/R 187–211/1970; Ribeira de Caixa – IICT/R 316–319/1970; Ribeira Maiamba – IICT/R 126–134/1970, 181–186/1970; Ribeira Seca – IICT/R 320–334/1970; S. João – IICT/R 272–277/1970; S. Nicolau hostel – IICT/R 475/1970; Taboleiro – IICT/R 533–539/1970, 562–579/1970, 583A–585A/1970, 587–595/1970; Ribeira Brava – IICT/R 115–125/1970, 335–339/1970 ; Ribeira Brava surroundings – IICT/R 476–487/1970; São Nicolau Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 596–597/1970 | ||
Tarentola protogigas hartogi Joger, 1993 | Brava Island: Achada do Favatal – IICT/R 403–405/1969, 412–421/1969; Vinagre – IICT/R 422–425/1969 | 24 | |||
Rombos Islet: 406–411/1969, CV32 | |||||
Tarentola protogigas protogigas Joger, 1984 | Fogo Island: São Filipe – IICT/R 426/1969, 429/1969, 433–434/1969, 436–43871969; São Filipe vivarium – IICT/R 443/1969; Vale de Cavaleiros lighthouse – IICT/R 292/1969 | 9 | |||
Tarentola raziana Schleich, 1984 | Branco Islet: Branco Islet [unknown locality] – IICT/R 470–474/1969 | 14 | |||
Raso Islet: Raso Islet [unknown locality] IICT/R 232–237/1970, 364–366/1970 | |||||
Tarentola rudis Boulenger, 1906 | Santiago Island: Praia – IICT/R 350–357/1969, 399/1969 | 10 | |||
Tarentola substituta Joger, 1984 | São Vicente Island: Baia das Gatas – IICT/R 301–31871972; Calhau – IICT/R 321–333/1972; Mato Inglês – IICT/R 339–377/1972; Monte Sossego – IICT/R 396–412/1972; Ribeira Passarão – IICT/R 381–395/1972; São Pedro – IICT/R 259–287/1970; | 131 | |||
Tarentola sp. | Fogo Island: Fogo Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 431/1969 | 1 | |||
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Chioninia Gray, 1845 | Chioninia delalandii (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | Brava Island: Achada do Favatal – IICT/R 237–255/1969; Nova Sintra – IICT/R 213–216/1969, 221–236/1969, 271–276/1969, CV14; Nova Sintra graveyard – IICT/R 217–220/1969, 221A–223A/1969; Senhora do Monte – IICT/R 256–261/1969; Vinagre – IICT/R 264–270/1969; Brava Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 193/1969, 207–212/1969 |
|
220 |
Maio Island: Calheta – IICT/R 26–30/1969, 38–43/1969, 47/1969, 49/1969; Maio Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 90/1969, 96–97/1969 | |||||
Santiago Island: Assomada – IICT/R 158 Boa Entrada – IICT/R 159/1969, 161/1969, 171/1969; Boa Entrada – IICT/R 131–133/1969, 144–147/1969, 156–159/1969, 189–192/1969, 45–47/1972; Chão da Fazenda – IICT/R 24–26/1972; Praia – IICT/R 58–74/1969; Santa Catarina – IICT/R 27–32/1972, 53–72/1972, 79–93/1972; Tarrafal – IICT/R 176/1969; Santiago Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 162–165/1969, 288–291/1969, 33–39/1972, CV29–30 | |||||
Fogo Island: São Filipe – IICT/R 297–300/1969, 303/1969, 323–327/1969; São Filipe vivarium – IICT/R 328–331/1969; Fogo Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 292–332/1969, CV2 | |||||
Chioninia fogoensis (O’Shaughnessy, 1874) | Santo Antão Island: Chão do Mocho – IICT/R 13–19/1972; Porto Novo – IICT/R 10–11/1972, 234–245/1972, 1001–1012/1972, CV17; Vale Paúl stream – IICT/R 4–9/1972, 298–300/1972; Santo Antão Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 1–3/1972, 12/1972, 158–165/1972, 379–380/1972 |
|
56 | ||
Chioninia nicolauensis (Schleich, 1987) | São Nicolau Island: Caleijão – IICT/R 79–85/1970; Preguiça Airfield – IICT/R 12–13/1970, 160/1970; Ribeira das Queimadas – IICT/R 41–47/1970, 49–57/1970; Ribeira João – IICT/R 1–11/1970; São Nicolau Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 14–40/1970, 60–78/1970, 102–106/1970, 651/1970 |
|
90 | ||
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Chioninia Gray, 1845 | Chioninia spinalis maioensis (Mertens, 1955) | Maio Island: Alcatraz – IICT/R 98–108/1969; Bumba stream – IICT/R 9–14/1969; Calheta – IICT/R 26A–37A/1969; 44–46/1969, 48/1969, 50/1969, 52–56/1969; Maio Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 1–8/1969, 15–19/1969, 109–110/1969; Lage-Branca Islet – IICT/R 75–83/1969, CV3 |
|
64 |
Chioninia strangeri (Gray, 1845) | Raso Islet: Raso Islet [unknown locality] IICT/R 86–114/1970 |
|
19 | ||
Chioninia vaillantii vaillantii (Boulenger, 1887) | Santiago Island: Assomada – IICT/R 166–170/1969, 180–188/1969; Boa Entrada – IICT/R 118–120/1967, 125–130/1967, 148–150/1969, 172–175/1969, 1340–1343/1969; Tarrafal – IICT/R 177–178/1969; Santiago Island [unknown locality] – IICT/R 121/1969, 138–142/1969, 151–153/1969, 44/1972, CV28 |
|
40 | ||
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILES SPECIMENS | 1364 |
The geographic range of this collection covers 74 different localities from ten islands and islets: São Nicolau, Santiago, Brava, Santo Antão, Maio, Raso, Fogo, São Vicente, Rombos, and Branco (Table
Gazetteer of Cabo Verde localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Island/Islet | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brava | Achada do Favatal [or Ach do Favatal] | Achada do Favatal (currently a waste dump) | 14.877435, -24.686155 | 1616 | 308 | 2/18 |
Brava | Achada do Ferreiro | Achada do Ferreiro | 14.837713, -24.727839 | 1376 | 238 | 1/11 |
Brava | Braga | Brava Island [or Brava] | 14.852066, -24.700687 | 5640 | 905 | 1/6 |
Brava | Cemitério de Nova Sintra | Nova Sintra graveyard | 14.876142, -24.69713 | 125 | 478 | 1/7 |
Brava | Fajã D´Água | Fajã D´Água | 14.870898, -24.730602 | 500 | 39 | 1/7 |
Brava | Nova Sintra | Nova Sintra | 14.870483, -24.695545 | 747 | 497 | 2/30 |
Brava | Senhora do Monte | Senhora do Monte | 14.857583, -24.719033 | 500 | 640 | 1/6 |
Brava | Vinagre | Vinagre | 14.866667, -24.7 | 350 | 634 | 3/33 |
Brava | Ilha Brava | Brava Island | 14.852066, -24.700687 | 5640 | 905 | 1/1 |
Maio | Aeroporto | Airport | 15.156885, -23.214155 | 1659 | 11 | 1/11 |
Maio | Alcatraz | Alcatraz | 15.217212, -23.103711 | 206 | 24 | 1/11 |
Maio | Barreiro | Barreiro | 15.135554, -23.160517 | 370 | 31 | 1/5 |
Maio | Calheta | Calheta | 15.229421, -23.210159 | 800 | 9 | 3/37 |
Maio | Ilhéu Lage-Branca | Lage-Branca Islet | 15.313, -23.137 | 47 | – | 1/10 |
Maio | Lagoa | Lagoa | 15.132533, -23.133345 | 540 | 3 | 1/6 |
Maio | Vila de Maio | Vila de Maio | 15.138703, -23.211588 | 730 | 22 | 1/5 |
Maio | Ribeira de Bumba | Bumba stream [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/6 |
Maio | Ilha de Maio | Maio Island | 15.216667, -23.166667 | 13613 | 82 | 2/61 |
Santiago | Assomada | Assomada, Santa Catarina | 15.098508, -23.67269 | 3036 | 542 | 1/40 |
Santiago | Boa Entrada | Boa Entrada, Santa Catarina | 15.125985, -23.674844 | 420 | 475 | 4/77 |
Santiago | Ribeira Boa Entrada | Boa Entrada stream | 15.125498, -23.675343 | 1017 | 475 | 1/3 |
Santiago | Chã da Fazenda Sta. Catarina | Chão da Fazenda, Santa Catarina | 15.083664, -23.669757 | 5513 | 371 | 1/2 |
Santiago | Santa Catarina, Chão de Tanque | Chão de Tanque, Santa Catarina | 15.094417, -23.705235 | 506 | 237 | 1/8 |
Santiago | Santa Catarina – Engenho [or Engenho] | Engenho, Santa Catarina | 15.083333, -23.666667 | 3036 | 382 | 3/84 |
Santiago | Ribeira de Mato Sancho [or Ribeira de Mato Sanches] | Mato Sanches stream [or Mato Sancho stream] | 15.098698, -23.728967 | 1677 | 349 | 1/11 |
Santiago | Picos | Picos | 15.081013, -23.636095 | 559 | 444 | 1/4 |
Santiago | Ribeira dos Picos | Picos stream | 15.081738, -23.632877 | 1257 | - | 1/2 |
Santiago | Praia | Praia | 14.942039, -23.516667 | 4271 | 69 | 2/27 |
Santiago | Praia Formosa | Praia Formosa | 15.039177, -23.51306 | 1318 | 110 | 1/2 |
Santiago | S. João Batista | S. João Batista | 14.95, -23.666667 | 3036 | 135 | 1/2 |
Santiago | Santa Catarina [or Santa Catarina - Ilha do Sanque] | Santa Catarina | 15.110938, -23.716136 | 7374 | 293 | 2/81 |
Santiago | Sedeguma | Sedeguma, Santa Catarina | 15.111, -23.685382 | 768 | 510 | 1/37 |
Santiago | São Jorge dos Orgãos | São Jorge dos Orgãos | 15.052822, -23.601954 | 802 | 313 | 1/67 |
Santiago | Tarrafal | Tarrafal | 15.275278, -23.749454 | 1634 | 21 | 2/3 |
Santiago | Ilha de Santiago | Santiago Island | 15.103222, -23.622722 | 29199 | 242 | 3/40 |
Santo Antão | Chão do Mocho | Chão do Mocho | 17.161455, -25.119461 | 2046 | 187 | 1/7 |
Santo Antão | Ponta do Sol [or Ponta do Sol, Fantanha] | Ponta do Sol [or Ponta do Sol, Fantanha] | 17.200315, -25.091084 | 635 | 30 | 3/8 |
Santo Antão | Porto Novo | Porto Novo | 17.025443, -25.066603 | 1493 | 47 | 3/120 |
Santo Antão | Vale do Paúl [or Vale Paúl, Ribeira] | Vale do Paúl [or Vale Paúl, stream] | 17.148052, -25.013314 | 1217 | 7 | 1/12 |
Santo Antão | Ilha de Santo Antão | Santo Antão Island | 17.064672, -25.170897 | 23523 | 1077 | 2/36 |
São Nicolau | Arredores Vila Ribeira Brava | Ribeira Brava surroundings | 16.624659, -24.286525 | 1125 | 36 | 2/12 |
São Nicolau | Cabeçalinho | Cabeçalinho | 16.602177, -24.306767 | 430 | 300 | 1/14 |
São Nicolau | Calejão | Calejão | 16.604442, -24.301217 | 303 | 221 | 2/46 |
São Nicolau | Carvoeiro | Carvoeiro | 16.648998, -24.303291 | 428 | 99 | 2/50 |
São Nicolau | Chanzinha | Chanzinha | 16.616616, -24.29656 | 507 | 107 | 1/5 |
São Nicolau | entre Jucalinho e Carrissal | between Jucalinho and Carrissal | 16.591956, -24.088655 | 6465 | 467 | 2/18 |
São Nicolau | entre Ribeira Brava e Juncalinho | between Ribeira Brava and Juncalinho | 16.643644, -24.216589 | 12531 | 54 | 1/8 |
São Nicolau | Perguiça | Perguiça | 16.563247, -24.281361 | 301 | 61 | 2/19 |
São Nicolau | Campo de Aviação da Preguiça | Preguiça Airfield | 16.588013, -24.285383 | 1296 | 181 | 3/36 |
São Nicolau | Porto da Preguiça | Preguiça port | 16.561723, -24.280177 | 159 | 6 | 1/19 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira da Prainha | Ribeira da Prainha | 16.620503, -24.290903 | 1719 | 96 | 1/24 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira das Queimadas | Ribeira das Queimadas | 16.641588, -24.315379 | 300 | 241 | 2/18 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira de Caixa | Ribeira de Caixa [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/4 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira João | Ribeira João [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 2/29 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira Maiamba | Ribeira Maiamba [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 3/21 |
São Nicolau | Ribeira Seca | Ribeira Seca | 16.608037, -24.212366 | 24792 | 175 | 1/15 |
São Nicolau | S. João | S. João | 16.602678, -24.215949 | 22806 | 200 | 1/6 |
São Nicolau | Pousada S. Nicolau | S. Nicolau hostel [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/1 |
São Nicolau | Taboleiro | Taboleiro [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 3/44 |
São Nicolau | Vila da Ribeira Brava [or Vale Paúl, Ribeira] | Ribeira Brava [or Vale Paúl, Ribeira] | 16.616667, -24.3 | 301 | 142 | 2/19 |
São Nicolau | Ilha de São Nicolau | São Nicolau Island | 16.608037, -24.212366 | 24792 | 175 | 3/66 |
São Vicente | Baia das Gatas | Baia das Gatas | 16.903244, -24.909886 | 301 | 6 | 1/18 |
São Vicente | Calhau | Calhau | 16.853122, -24.86641 | 1482 | 8 | 1/13 |
São Vicente | Mato Inglês | Mato Inglês | 16.860123, -24.946237 | 649 | 191 | 1/39 |
São Vicente | São Pedro | São Pedro | 16.828744, -25.060674 | 1821 | 6 | 1/29 |
São Vicente | Ribeira Passarão | Ribeira Passarão | 16.869242, -24.979704 | 1425 | 27 | 1/15 |
São Vicente | Monte Sossego | Monte Sossego | 16.86152, -24.999323 | 414 | 30 | 1/17 |
Fogo | Posto de Fogo, Cavaleiros | Vale de Cavaleiros lighthouse | 14.923969, -24.501743 | 300 | 44 | 1/1 |
Fogo | S. Filipe | São Filipe | 14.899416, -24.494312 | 1484 | 132 | 4/27 |
Fogo | Viveiros de S. Filipe | S. Filipe vivarium | 14.893628, -24.494822 | 1559 | 92 | 2/5 |
Fogo | Ilha do Fogo | Fogo Island | 14.912456, -24.374662 | 16064 | 2004 | 3/6 |
Branco | Ilhéu Branco | Branco Islet | 16.658552, -24.670287 | 2405 | 276 | 1/5 |
Raso | Ilhéu Raso | Raso Islet | 16.617111, -24.586456 | 2405 | 48 | 3/156 |
Rombos | Ilhéus Rombos | Rombos Islets | 14.96853, -24.644065 | 2484 | 9 | 1/7 |
Part of the material assigned to the genus Chioninia was studied and published by Margarida Pinheiro on two different occasions (
This is the largest known herpetological collection from Cabo Verde, with 1740 specimens, and is followed by relevant collections from the
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
The herpetofauna of Guinea-Bissau is one of the most poorly known in the region. The most recent checklist was published by
The IICT collection comprises 980 specimens (604 amphibians and 376 reptiles), covering 12 species of amphibians and 37 species of reptiles (Table
Overview of the Guinea Bissau amphibian and reptile collections of IICT.
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Pipidae Gray, 1825 | Pseudhymenochirus Chabanaud, 1920 | Pseudhymenochirus merlini Chabanaud, 1920 | Pitche – IICT/A 221-1946 |
|
1 |
Xenopus Wagler, 1827 | Xenopus tropicalis (Gray, 1864) | Bissau – IICT/A 106 to 115–1945; Calequisse, Chachungo – IICT/A 143-1945 |
|
11 | |
Bufonidae (Gray, 1825) | Sclerophrys Tschudi, 1838 | Sclerophrys regularis (Reuss, 1833) | Bissalanca – IICT/A 15–20/1945; Bissau – IICT/A GB1; Bissorã – IICT/A 171–274/1945; Cacine – IICT/A 72–89/1946, 91–93/1946; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/A 17/1946; Marques Mano – IICT/A 1–10/1945, 166/1945; Pecixe – IICT/A 145–149/1945, 151–159/1945; Pitche – IICT/A 164–257/1946; Tor – IICT/A 28–31/1945; |
|
179 |
Sclerophrys sp. | Bissorã – IICT/A 258–266/1945 | 9 | |||
Hyperoliidae Laurent, 1943 | Hyperolius Rapp, 1842 | Hyperolius concolor (Hallowell, 1844) | Bissalanca – IICT/A 167/1945; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/A 25-1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/A 160–163/1945, 165/1945, 168–170/1945; Pitche – IICT/A 178-1946 |
|
11 |
Hyperolius sp. | between Buba and Corubal river – IICT/A-1990; Caiomete – IICT/A 131–132/1945; Catió – IICT/A GB2; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/A 1–4/1947, 164/1945 |
|
9 | ||
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena ansorgii (Boulenger, 1905) | Cacine – IICT/A 342-1946 | 1 | |
Ptychadena bibroni (Hallowell, 1845) | Bissorã – IICT/A 50–52/1946; Cutiá, Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/A 26–49/1946 |
|
27 | ||
Ptychadena mascareniensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | Bissorã – IICT/A 194–195/1945, 284–333/1946, 289–295/1945; Cacine – IICT/A 66–71/1946, 75/1946; Catió – IICT/A 66–71/1946, 102–103/1946, 106–112/1946, 141/1946; Catió, Cufar – IICT/A 151/1946; Cutiá, Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/A 283/1946; Gabu] – IICT/A 97/1945; Madina do Boé – IICT/A 230–243/1945; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/AIICT/A 8–1946; Prabis – IICT/A 50–54/1945 |
|
99 | ||
Dicroglossidae Anderson, 1871 | Hoplobatrachus Peters, 1863 | Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (Günther, 1858) | Bafatá – IICT/A 100–105/1945; Bissalanca – IICT/A 12–14/1945; Bissau – IICT/A 116–119/1945; Bissorã – IICT/A 191–193/1945, 196–207/1945, 246–250/1945, 254–257/1945, 268–273/1945, 275–288/1945; Calequisse, Chachungo – IICT/A 154–156/1945; Cachungo – IICT/A 120–130/1945, 133–142/1945; Catió – IICT/A 94–98/1946, 104/1946, 116/1946, 120–140/1946, 142–147/1946; 156–169/1946; Catió, Cufar – IICT/A 148–150/1946, 152–155/1946; Farim – IICT/A 68–96/1945; Gabu – IICT/A 98–99/1945; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/A 1–7/1946, 9–24/1946, 53–65/1946, 258–282/1946, 336–341/1946; Parabis – IICT/A 36–49/1945; Pecixe – IICT/A 150/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/A 11/1945; São Domingos – IICT/A 55–57/1945; Tor – IICT/A 21–27/1945, 32–35/1945 |
|
252 |
Ranidae Batsch, 1796 | Amnirana Dubois, 199 | Amnirana galamensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | Catió – IICT/A 99–101/1946 |
|
3 |
GYMNOPHIONA Müller, 1832 | |||||
Dermophiidae Taylor, 1969 | Geotrypetes Peters, 1880 | Geotrypetes seraphini (Duméril, 1859) | Machado Farm – IICT/A 296–297/1945 | 2 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 604 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
CROCODYLIA Gmelin, 1789 | |||||
Crocodylidae Cuvier, 1808 | Crocodylus Laurenti, 1768 | Crocodylus suchus Geoffroy, 1807 | Bijimita – IICT/R 102–109/1954 | 8 | |
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 | Hemidactylus angulatus Hallowell, 1854 | Bissalanca – IICT/R 97/1945, 145/1945, 184/1945; Bissau – IICT/R 152/1945, 128–130/1946; Buba – IICT/R GB4; Cacine – IICT/R 17/1946, 19/1946/, 28/1946; Chitole [or Xitole] – IICT/R 12/1946; Mansoa [= Mansôa] – IICT/R 1/1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 2–3/1944, 44/1945, 60–61/1945, 257–259/1945, 262/1945, 264/1945, 267/1945, 269/1945, 278/1945; Gabu – IICT/R A–B/1962; São Vicente – IICT/R 1A-1946 | Manaças (1951) | 29 |
Phyllodactylidae Gamble, Bauer, Greenbaum & Jackman | Tarentola Gray, 1825 | Tarentola ephippiata senegambiae Joger, 1984 | Bafatá – IICT/R 291/1945; Pitche – IICT/R 122/1946 | Manaças (1951) | 2 |
Amphisbaenidae Gray, 1825 | Cynisca Duméril & Bibron, 1839 | Cynisca feae (Boulenger, 1906) | Bissalanca – IICT/R 64/1945; Bissau – IICT/R 53/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 28–30/1945, 40/1945, 42–43/1945, 46–48/1945, 54/1945, 65–71/1945, 76–77/1945, 76A/1945, 92–96/1945, 138–139/1945 |
|
29 |
Varanidae Hardwicke & Gray, 1824 | Varanus Merrem, 1820 | Varanus exanthematicus (Bosc, 1792) | Bissalanca – IICT/R 45/1945, 51/1945, 80/1945; Brene – IICT/R 52/1945; Cachungo – IICT/R 192/1945, 201/1945; Pecixe – IICT/R 219–220/1945; Pitche – IICT/R 112/1945; Tor – IICT/R 118/1945 |
|
10 |
Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Ilha Formosa – IICT/R 155/1945 | 1 | |||
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Mochlus Günther, 1864 | Mochlus guineensis Peters, 1879 | Cacine – IICT/R 29/1946 | Manaças (1951) | 1 |
Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 | Trachylepis affinis (Gray, 1838) | Bissalanca – IICT/R 183/1945; Bissorã – IICT/R 305–306/1945; Cacine – IICT/R 15–16/1946, 18/1946, 25–27/1946, 30/1946; Calequisse, Chachungo – IICT/R 202/1945; Madina do Boé – IICT/R 77–94/1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 4–5/1945, 9/1945, 137/1945, CZ000011298–11300; Pecixe – IICT/R 215–216/1945; Pitche – IICT/R 50/1946, 95–111/1946 | Manaças (1951) | 56 | |
Trachylepis perroteti (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | Bissorã – IICT/R 309/1945; Cacine – IICT/R 31/1946; Calequisse, Chachungo – IICT/R 193–199/1945, 203/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 32–33/1945, 254–255/1945, 254A–255A/1945, 256/1945, 260/1945, 261/1945, 261A/1945, 265/1945, 265A/1945, 266/1945, Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 46/1964, 46ª/1964 | Manaças (1951) | 25 | ||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Agama Daudin, 1802 | Agama cf. boensis Monard, 1940 | Pitche – IICT/R 44/1946, 76/1946; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB6 | Manaças (1951) | 3 |
Agama picticauda Peters, 1877 | Bafatá – IICT/R 290/1945; Bambadinca – IICT/R 175/1945; Bissau, city center – IICT/R 228/1945, Bissorã – IICT/R 298/1945, 310–311/1945; Cachungo – IICT/R 205–209/1945, 209A/1945, 211–214/1945; Chitole [or Xitole] – IICT/R 8–11/1946; Cutiá, Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/R 4/1946; Gabu – IICT/R 159–166/1945; Ilha Formosa – IICT/R 157–158/1945; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/R 5/1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 11–13/1945, 34–36/1945, 98/1945; Pecixe – IICT/R 185–187/1945, 189/1945, 218/1945, 221–223/1945; Pitche – IICT/R 47–49/1946, 51–65/1946, 67–75/1946, 121/1946; Tor IICT/R 119–121/1945, 140–141/1945 | Manaças (1951) | 79 | ||
Agama sp. | Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB7 | 1 | |||
Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825 | Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768 | Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1842 | Bissorã – IICT/R 209/1945, 301–302/1945, 304/1945, 308/1945; Brene – IICT/R 62/1946; Cacine – IICT/R 14/1946, 20/1946, 32/1946; Catió – IICT/R 39–40/1946; Chitole [or Xitole] – IICT/R 13/1946; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/R 2/1946; Nhampurbani, Pitche – IICT/R 123/1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 31/1945, 72/1945; Parabis – IICT/R 146–151/1945; Tor – IICT/R 123–129/1945, 132–133/1945 | Manaças (1951) | 31 |
Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825 | Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768 | Chamaeleo senegalensis Daudin, 1802 | Bijimita – IICT/R 130/1945; Bissorã – IICT/R 294–295/1945, 297/1945, 299–300/1945; 307/1945; Mansoa [or Mansôa] – IICT/R 3/1946 | 8 | |
SERPENTES | |||||
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Afrotyphlops Broadley & Wallach, 2009 | Afrotyphlops punctatus (Leach, 1819) | Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 1/1939, 5/1947; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 282/1945 |
|
3 |
Leptotyphlopidae Stejneger, 1892 | Myriopholi Hedges, Adalsteinsson & Branch, 2009 | Myriopholis narirostris (Peters, 1867) | Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 49/1945 |
|
1 |
Pythonidae Fitzinger, 1826 | Python Daudin, 1803 | Python sebae (Gmelin, 1789) | Mandinga – IICT/R GB10 | 1 | |
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Bitis Gray, 1842 | Bitis arietans (Merrem, 1820) | Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 283/1945 | 1 | |
Causus Wagler, 1830 | Causus maculatus (Hallowell, 1842) | Cachungo – IICT/R 240/1945 | 1 | ||
Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Atractaspis Smith, 1849 | Atractaspis aterrima Günther, 1863 | Buba-Tombó – IICT/R GB11; Cacine – IICT/R 35/1946; Machado Farm – IICT/R 11/1947; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB12 | 4 | |
Boaedon Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | Boaedon fuliginosus (Boie, 1827) | Bijimita – IICT/R 102/1945; Bissalanca – IICT/R 79/1945; Bissau – IICT/R 177/1945; Brene – IICT/R 74/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 1/1944, 26/1945, 50/1945, 74/1945; Machado Farm – IICT/R 12/1987 |
|
8 | |
Boaedon sp. | Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 1/1944; Tor – IICT/R 113/1945 |
|
2 | ||
Limaformosa Broadley, Tolley, Conradie, Wishart, Trape, Burger, Kusamba, Zassi-Boulou & Greenbaum, 2018 | Limaformosa crossi (Boulenger, 1895) | Tor – IICT/R 112/1945, 243/1945 | 2 | ||
Lycophidion Fitzinger, 1843 | Lycophidion albomaculatum Steindachner, 1870 | Bissalanca – IICT/R 21/1945, 241/1945, Bissau – IICT/R 229/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 27/1945; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB14 |
|
5 | |
Lycophidion irroratum (Leach, 1819) | Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 135/1945; Machado Farm – IICT/R 275–276/1945, 280/1945 |
|
4 | ||
Psammophis Boie, 1825 | Psammophis elegans (Shaw, 1802) | Bissalanca – IICT/R 22–23/1945, 58/1945; Catió – IICT/R 38/1946; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 14 15/1945; Pecixe – IICT/R 239/1945; Tor – IICT/R 88/1945, 111/1945, 117/1945 |
|
10 | |
Psammophis lineatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | Bafatá – IICT/R 2/1953; Catió – IICT/R 3871946; Machado Farm – IICT/R 263/1945 |
|
3 | ||
Psammophis afroccidentalis Trape, Böhme & Mediannikov, 2019 | Bijmita – IICT/R 101/1945; Bissau – IICT/R 126/1946; Cacine – IICT/R 21–22/1946, 34/1946; Catió – IICT/R 37/1946; Mandinga – IICT/R B9; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 25/1945; Tor – IICT/R 122/1945, 134/1945, 134A/1945, 142–143/1945 |
|
13 | ||
Psammophis sp. | Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB1 | 1 | |||
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Naja Laurenti, 1768 | Naja haje (Linnaeus, 1758) | Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 227 | 1 | |
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Crotaphopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 | Crotaphoepltis hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768) | Bafatá – IICT/R 287/1945; Bijimita – IICT/R78/1945; Bissalanca – IICT/R 103/1945, 24871945, 124/1946; Bissau, city center – IICT/R 10/1945, 182/1945; Machado Farm – IICT/R 277/1945; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R GB13 |
|
9 |
Dasypeltis Wagler, 1830 | Dasypeltis confusa Trape & Mané, 2008 | Bissalanca – IICT/R 231/1945 |
|
1 | |
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Dasypeltis Wagler, 1830 | Dasypeltis gansi Trape & Mané, 2006 | Cachamba – IICT/R GB5 | 1 | |
Dispholidus Duvernoy, 1832 | Dispholidus typus (Smith, 1828) | Cacine – IICT/R 23/1946 |
|
1 | |
Grayia Günther, 1858 | Grayia smithi (Leach, 1818) | Machado Farm – IICT/R 15/1947 |
|
1 | |
Philothamnus Smith, 1840 | Philothamnus irregularis (Leach, 1819) | Bijimita – IICT/R 100/1945, 104/1945; 115/1945; Bissalanca – IICT/R 181/1945, 20/1945; Bissau – IICT/R 230/1945; Bissorã – IICT/R 303/1945; Bolama – IICT/R GB3; Marques Mano – IICT/R 136/1945; Tor– IICT/R 89–91/1945, 114/1945; Guiné-Bissau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 6/1944, 10/1944, GB8 | 16 | ||
Toxicodryas Hallowell, 1857 | Toxicodryas blandingii (Hallowell, 1844) | Ilha de Bubaque – IICT/R GB2; Bissalanca – IICT/R 242/1945, 244/1945; Marques Mano Farm – IICT/R 16/1945 |
|
4 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILES SPECIMENS | 376 |
Geographically, these specimens come from 38 different localities distributed in the nine regions of the country – Bafatá, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, and Tombali (Table
Gazetteer of Guinea-Bissau localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Province | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bafatá | Bafatá | Bafatá | 12.166667, -14.666667 | 3036 | 8 | 5/10 |
Bafatá | Bambadinca | Bambadinca | 12.152227, -14.476879 | 3036 | 49 | 1/1 |
Bijagós | llha de Bubaque | Bubaque Island | 11.252357, -15.861174 | 6538 | 24 | 1/1 |
Bijagós | Bolama | Bolama | 11.57671, -15.48019 | 3036 | 16 | 1/1 |
Bijagós | Ilha Formosa | Formosa Island | 11.483333, -15.966667 | 12350 | 31 | 2/3 |
Biombo | Bijimita | Bijimita | 11.883333, -15.85 | 3036 | 13 | 6/13 |
Biombo | Ponta de Machado | Machado Farm | 11.84958, -15.642988 | 10000 | 42 | 9/15 |
Biombo | Marques Mano | Marques Mano Farm | 11.84958, -15.642988 | 10000 | 42 | 20/104 |
Biombo | Prabis | Prabis [or Prábis] | 11.8025, -15.738888 | 1008 | 22 | 3/25 |
Biombo | Tor | Tor | 11.847634, -15.901396 | 3036 | 18 | 10/45 |
Bissau | Bissalanca | Bissalanca | 11.883333, -15.666667 | 3036 | 37 | 14/32 |
Bissau | Bissau | Bissau | 11.857056, -15.58711 | 7327 | 15 | 7/19 |
Bissau | Bissau, Cidade | Bissau, city center | 11.858736, -15.579213 | 301 | 14 | 4/8 |
Bissau | Brene | Brene | 11.883333, -15.65 | 301 | 35 | 3/3 |
Cacheu | Caiomete | Caiomete | 11.985172, -16.234847 | 1000 | 8 | 1/2 |
Cacheu | Calequisse, Canchingo | Calequisse, Chachungo | 12.069722, -16.224444 | 900 | 25 | 4/13 |
Cacheu | Chachungo | Chachungo | 12.074424, -16.02772 | 825 | 31 | 4/34 |
Cacheu | Pecixe | Pecixe | 11.810861, -16.089651 | 3036 | 8 | 6/25 |
Cacheu | São Domingos | São Domingos | 12.401944, -16.200556 | 3036 | 10 | 1/3 |
Cacheu | São Vicente | S. Vicente | 12.230989, -15.755374 | 1566 | 14 | 1/1 |
Gabu | Gabu [or Nova Lamego] | Gabu | 12.283333, -14.216667 | 2000 | 48 | 4/13 |
Gabu | Madina Boé | Madina do Boé | 11.75, -14.216667 | 3036 | 98 | 2/32 |
Gabu | Mandinga [or Miniou, Mandinga] | Mandinga | 12.618496, -15.102543 | 6437 | 48 | 2/2 |
Gabu | Nhampurbani, Pitche | Nhampurbani, Pitche | 12.333333, -13.95 | 3036 | 71 | 1/1 |
Gabu | Pitche | Pitche | 12.3226, -13.95412 | 1352 | 66 | 8/121 |
Oio | Bissoram | Bissorã | 12.223056, -15.4475 | 7500 | 15 | 11/189 |
Oio | Cutiá, Mansoa | Cutiá, Mansoa [or Mansôa] | 12.174722, -15.240833 | 3036 | 35 | 3/26 |
Oio | Farim | Farim | 12.483889, -15.221667 | 800 | 11 | 1/29 |
Quinara | Buba | Buba | 11.592204, -14.988713 | 1687 | 40 | 1/1 |
Quinara | Chitole | Chitole [or Xitole] | 11.733333, -14.816667 | 877 | 28 | 3/6 |
Quinara | Entre Buba e o rio Coruball | between Buba and Corubal river | 11.646348, -14.893414 | 5000 | 23 | 1/1 |
Quinara | Tombô-Fulacunda | Buba-Tombó | 11.65, -15.01667 | 1094 | 39 | |
Tombali | Cachamba | Cachamba | 11.191942, -15.0839 | 5168 | 18 | 1/1 |
Tombali | Cacine | Cacine | 11.123447, -15.01538 | 1640 | 11 | 11/47 |
Tombali | Catió | Catió | 11.283333, -15.25 | 301 | 9 | 8/56 |
Tombali | Catió - Cufer | Catió, Cufer | 11.291869, -15.175909 | 700 | 9 | 2/8 |
Guiné-Bissau | Guiné-Bissau, undetermined locality | 10/13 |
Specimens from Guinea-Bissau are scarce in collections worldwide. The main collections holding specimens of amphibians and reptiles from Guinea-Bissau are the IICT, with 980 specimens;
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
Since the early 2000's the herpetofauna of São Tomé & Príncipe has been subject of several studies, including the descriptions of various new species of amphibians and reptiles. A provisional checklist of the terrestrial herpetofauna of São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobon was provided by
The collection comprises 234 specimens (76 amphibians and 158 reptiles), eight species of amphibians and 20 species of reptiles (Table
Overview of the São Tomé & Príncipe’s amphibian and reptile collections of IICT.
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Hyperoliidae Laurent, 1943 | Hyperolius Rapp, 1842 | Hyperolius drewesi Bell, 2016 | Roça Esperança – IICT/A 13A/1954 | 1 | |
Hyperolius thomensis Bocage, 1886 | Roça Saudade – IICT/A STP6; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/A STP5 | 2 | |||
Arthroleptidae Mivart, 1869 | Arthroleptis Smith, 1849 | Leptopelis palmatus (Peters, 1868) | Príncipe Airport – IICT/A 52–53/1955, 54–55/1956; Santo António – IICT/A 13–14/1955; Ribeira Izé – IICT/A 44–45/1955 |
|
8 |
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena newtoni (Bocage, 1886) | Roça Monte Café – IICT/A 1/1961; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 15/1967, 16A–16B/1967 | 4 | |
Phrynobatrachidae Laurent, 1941 | Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862 | Phrynobatrachus dispar (Peters, 1870) | Príncipe Airport – IICT/A 46–51/1955; Roça Azeitona [or Roça São Jorge] – IICT/A STP7; Roça Esperança – IICT/A 15/1954, 18/1954 |
|
9 |
Phrynobatrachus leveleve Uyeda, Drewes & Zimkus, 2007 | Roça Monte Café – IICT/A 37/1954; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 2–4/1954, STP4A, 4B | 6 | |||
GYMNOPHIONA Müller, 1832 | |||||
Dermophiidae Taylor, 1969 | Schistometopum Parker, 1941 | Schistometopum thomense (Bocage, 1873) | Potó-Correia – IICT/A 9/1966; Roça Milagrosa – IICT/A 1/1954, 9–12/1954, 9/1966, STP3B, 3C; Roça Monte Café – IICT/A 26–41/1954; Roça Pinheira – IICT/A 1/1967; Roça Ponta-Figo – IICT/A 56–57/1958, STP3A; Roça S. Nicolau – IICT/A 5/1954; Roça Saudade – IICT/A 1–9/1963, 20–25/1954 |
|
43 |
Schistometopum ephele Taylor, 1965 | Roça Porto Alegre – IICT/A 6–8/1954; |
|
3 | ||
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 76 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 | Hemidactylus greeffii Bocage, 1886 | Roça Nova Moca – IICT/R 12/1954, 20/1954 |
|
2 |
Hemidactylus longicephalus Bocage, 1873 | Santo António – 67–68/1955, 104–106/1955 |
|
5 | ||
Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) | Roça Esperança – IICT/R 40/1954, 43/1954; Roça Nova Moca – IICT/R 17–19/1954, 49/1954; Roça Potó-Correia – IICT/R 16–18/1966 |
|
8 | ||
Hemidactylus principensis Miller, Sellas & Drewes, 2012 | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 102/1955 |
|
1 | ||
Hemidactylus sp. | Tinhosa Grande Islet – IICT/R 1/1970 | 1 | |||
Lygodactylus Gray, 1864 | Lygodactylus delicatus Pasteur, 1962 | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 64–66/1955 |
|
3 | |
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Feylinia Gray, 1845 | Feylinia polylepis Bocage, 1887 | Roça Porto Real – IICT/R 28/1954, STP9; Roça Esperança – IICT/R 30–33/1954, 42/1954, STP9 |
|
8 |
Panaspis Cope, 1868 | Panaspis africana (Gray, 1845) | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 71/1955, 76/1955, 81–98/1955 |
|
20 | |
Panaspis thomensis Ceríaco, Soares, Marques, Bastos-Silveira, Scheinberg, Harris, Brehm & Jesus, 2018 | Roça Monte Café – IICT/R 45/1954, 47–48/1954; Roça Nova Moca – IICT/R 2/1954, 50/1954 |
|
5 | ||
Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 | Trachylepis adamastor Ceríaco, 2015 | Tinhosa Grande Islet – IICT/R 1–2/1970, 1–6/1971; Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 69/1955, 73–74/1955; Roça Esperança – IICT/R 35/1954 |
|
13 | |
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 | Trachylepis affinis (Gray, 1838) | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 70/1955, 72/1955, 77–80/1955, 99/1955; Roça Esperança – IICT/R 36–39/1954, 44/1954 |
|
14 |
Trachylepis thomensis Ceríaco, Marques & Bauer, 2016 | Rolas Islet – IICT/R 3–7/1954; Roça Bela Vista – IICT/R 13–16/1954; Potó-Correia – IICT/R 11–16/1966; Roça Pinheira – IICT/R STP11; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 14/1967 |
|
17 | ||
SERPENTES | |||||
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Afrotyphlops Broadley & Wallach, 2009 | Afrotyphlops elegans (Peters, 1868) | Príncipe Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 111–112/1956; Roça Esperança – IICT/R 29/1954; Santo António – IICT/R 27/1954 |
|
4 |
Letheobia Cope, 1868 | Letheobia newtoni (Bocage, 1890) | Roça Monte Café – IICT/R 22–23/1954, STP3; Roça Potó-Correia – IICT/R 7/1966, 10/1966 |
|
5 | |
Letheobia sp. | Roça Porto Real – IICT/R 6/1967, 11–12/1967 | 3 | |||
Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Boaedon Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | Boaedon bedriagae Boulenger, 1907 | Água-Izé – IICT/R 51/1954; Angra Toldo – IICT/R 2/1967; Ponta-Figo – IICT/R STP12; Potó-Correia – IICT/R 4/1966, 18/1967, 21/1967; Roça Boa Entrada – IICT/R 1771967; Roça Porto Alegre – IICT/R 8/1954; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 3/1966, 19/1967, STP13 |
|
11 |
Boaedon mendesi Ceríaco, Arellano, Jadin, Marques, Parrinha & Hallermann, 2021 | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 63/1955; Roça Sundy – IICT/R 113–114/1956, 2671954, 8/1967; Santo António – IICT/R 109/1955; Príncipe Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 52–56/1955, 58–59/1955 |
|
12 | ||
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Naja Laurenti, 1768 | Naja peroescobari Ceríaco, Marques, Schmitz & Bauer, 2017 | Ribeira Peixe – IICT/R 18/1972; Roça Porto Alegre – IICT/R 9/1954; Santa Josefina – IICT/R 20/1967; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 2/1966; Uba-Budo – IICT/R STP10 |
|
5 |
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Hapsidophrys Fischer, 1856 | Hapsidophrys principis (Boulenger, 1906) | Príncipe Airport – IICT/R 103/1955, 107–108/1955; Roça São Jorge [or Roça Azeitona] – IICT/R 61–62/1955; Roça Sundy – IICT/R 41/1954; Príncipe Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 60–61/1955, 110/1956, STP2 |
|
10 |
Philothamnus Smith, 1840 | Philothamnus thomensis Bocage, 1882 | Água-Izé – IICT/R 10/1954; Angra Toldo – IICT/R 3/1967; Ponta-Figo – IICT/R 115–117/1958; Roça Potó-Correia – IICT/R 5–8/1966, 13/1967; Roça Milagrosa – IICT/R 21/1954; São Tomé Island [undetermined locality] – IICT/R STP1 |
|
11 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILES SPECIMENS | 158 |
Geographically these specimens come from 23 different localities distributed in the two islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, and in two small islets on each coast of the main islands, respectively, Rolas and Tinhosa Grande (Table
Gazetteer of São Tomé & Príncipe localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Island/Islet | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Príncipe | Aeroporto | Príncipe Airport | 1.662259, 7.41235 | 1039 | 180 | 9/50 |
Príncipe | Roça Azeitona | Roça Azeitona [or Roça São Jorge] | 1.666667, 7.383333 | 301 | 171 | 2/3 |
Príncipe | Ilha do Príncipe [or Príncipe] | Príncipe Island | 1.612248, 7.396894 | 11813 | 149 | 3/12 |
Príncipe | Porto Real [or Roça Porto Real] | Roça Porto Real | 1.624118, 7.405149 | 656 | 132 | 2/5 |
Príncipe | Roça Esperança | Roça Esperança | 1.635551, 7.398481 | 154 | 188 | 7/18 |
Príncipe | Roça Sundy | Roça Sundy | 1.668775, 7.383353 | 852 | 169 | 2/5 |
Príncipe | Santo António | Santo António | 1.636944, 7.419444 | 790 | 12 | 4/9 |
São Tomé | Água-Izé [or Ribeira Izé] | Água-Izé [or Ribeira Izé] | 0.217868, 6.725149 | 210 | 38 | 3/4 |
São Tomé | Angra Toldo | Angra Toldo | 0.15770, 6.67070 | 301 | 19 | 2/2 |
São Tomé | Ponta-Figo [or Roça Ponta-Figo] | Ponta-Figo [or Roça Ponta-Figo] | 0.339465, 6.54286 | 920 | 151 | 3/7 |
São Tomé | Potó-Correia [or Roça Potó-Correia] | Potó-Correia [or Roça Potó-Correia] | 0.29685, 6.680288 | 1000 | 291 | 6/18 |
São Tomé | Ribeira Peixe | Ribeira Peixe | 0.09028, 6.61528 | 301 | 19 | 1/1 |
São Tomé | Roça Bela Vista | Roça Bela Vista | 0.366667, 6.7 | 3036 | 27 | 1/4 |
São Tomé | Roça Boa Nova | Roça Boa Entrada | 0.35, 6.666667 | 3036 | 180 | 1/1 |
São Tomé | Roça Milagrosa | Roça Milagrosa | 0.27978, 6.65995 | 211 | 465 | 2/8 |
São Tomé | Roça Monte-Café | Roça Monte Café | 0.299931, 6.64031 | 311 | 694 | 5/23 |
São Tomé | Roça Nova Moca | Roça Nova Moca | 0.287436, 6.63414 | 339 | 854 | 3/8 |
São Tomé | Pinheira [or Pinheiro] | Roça Pinheira | 0.286313, 6.716026 | 44 | 118 | 2/2 |
São Tomé | Roça Porto Alegre | Roça Porto Alegre | 0.033333, 6.533333 | 634 | 16 | 3/5 |
São Tomé | Roça S. Nicolau | Roça S. Nicolau | 0.279608, 6.625934 | 427 | 917 | 1/1 |
São Tomé | Roça Saudade | Roça Saudade | 0.283333, 6.633333 | 3036 | 771 | 2/16 |
São Tomé | Santa Josefina | Santa Josefina | 0.066667, 6.533333 | 3036 | 109 | 1/1 |
São Tomé | Uba-Budo | Uba-Budo | 0.262, 6.702 | 333 | 254 | 1/1 |
São Tomé | São Tomé | São Tomé Island | 0.232334, 6.598798 | 25289 | 695 | 7/15 |
Rolas | Ilhéu das Rolas | Rolas Islet | -0.002066, 6.521748 | 1365 | 89 | 1/5 |
Tinhosa Grande | Pedras Tinhosas | Tinhosa Grande Islet | 1.342118, 7.292135 | 117 | 55 | 2/9 |
The main collections holding specimens of amphibians and reptiles from São Tomé & Príncipe are
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
After approximately four decades of violent armed conflict that closed the country to researchers, the study of Angolan herpetofauna has experienced a rapid growth in the last decade. The most recent checklists of the herpetofauna of Angola report 117 species of amphibians and 278 reptiles, of which 54 are endemic to the country (
The collection comprises 677 specimens (259 amphibians and 418 reptiles), covering 21 species of amphibians and 45 species and 2 subspecies of reptiles (Table
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Pipidae Gray, 1825 | Xenopus Wagler, 1827 | Xenopus petersii Bocage, 1897 | Calandula [or Kalandula] waterfalls – IICT/A 1/1957; Lucusse – IICT/A 18/1957; Calombe river – IICT/A 27/1959 |
|
3 |
Bufonidae (Gray, 1825) | Sclerophrys Tschudi, 1838 | Sclerophrys garmani (Meek, 1897) | Calombe river – IICT/A 168/1959 |
|
1 |
Sclerophrys gutturalis (Power, 1927) | Calombe river – IICT/A 155/1959, IICT/A 166/1959; Caluando river, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 66–67/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/A 64–65/1958; Lubango – IICT/A 55–1957; Luena – IICT/A 14/1957, IICT/A 17/1957; Luvuei – IICT/A 20/1957 |
|
10 | ||
Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937) | Calandula [or Kalandula] waterfalls – IICT/A 2/1957 |
|
1 | ||
Sclerophrys sp. | Calombe river – IICT/A 151/1959 |
|
1 | ||
Poyntonophrynus Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green & Wheeler, 2006 | Poyntonophrynus kavangensis Poynton & Broadley, 1988 | Calombe – IICT/A 156/1959 |
|
1 | |
Brevicipitidae Bonaparte, 1850 | Breviceps Merrem, 1820 | Breviceps poweri Parker, 1936 | Calombe – IICT/A 163/1959, 169/1959, 174–177/1959 |
|
6 |
Hemisotidae Cope, 1867 | Hemisus Günther, 1859 | Hemisus marmoratus (Peters, 1854) | Calombe – IICT/A 150/1959, 171/1959 | 2 | |
Hyperoliidae Laurent, 1943 | Hyperolius Rapp, 1842 | Hyperolius angolensis Steindachner, 1868 | Caconda – IICT/A 54/1957; Cameia lake – IICT/A 10-1958 | 2 | |
Hyperolius sp. | Calombe – IICT/A 100–112/1959, 152/1959; Calombe river – IICT/A 28–84/1959; Caluando river, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 26/1959; Saurimo – IICT/A 6/1957; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 147/1959 | 91 | |||
Arthroleptidae Mivart, 1869 | Arthroleptis Smith, 1849 | Arthroleptis stenodactylus Pfeffer, 1893 | Calombe – IICT/A 172–173/1959 |
|
2 |
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena anchietae (Bocage, 1868) | Dilolo lake – IICT/A 62/1958 |
|
1 |
Ptychadena grandisonae Laurent, 1954 | Calombe river – IICT/A 113/1959; Luena – IICT/A 15/1957 |
|
2 | ||
Ptychadena cf. mascareniensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | Cameia lake – IICT/A 2–8/1958, 15–37/1958; Caluando river, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 17–20/1959, 22–23/1959; Dilolo lake – IICT/A 55–61/1958; Kwanza river margins, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 16-1959 |
|
45 | ||
Ptychadena subpunctata (Bocage, 1866) | Cameia lake – IICT/A 1/1958, 38–50/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/A 53/1958, 63/1958 |
|
16 | ||
Ptychadena sp. | Calandula [or Kalandula] waterfalls – IICT/A 7–13/1957, 11/1958; Calombe – IICT/A 160–162/1959; Cameia lake – IICT/A 52/1958; Luena – IICT/A 16/1957; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 3/5/1957, 53/1957 | 17 | |||
Ptychadena upembae (Schmidt & Inger, 1959) | Cameia lake – IICT/A 14/1958 |
|
1 | ||
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena uzungwensis (Loveridge, 1932) | Calombe – IICT/A 167/1959 |
|
1 |
Phrynobatrachidae Laurent, 1941 | Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862 | Phrynobatrachus natalensis (Smith, 1849) | Calombe river – IICT/A 144–145/1959; Camanongue – IICT/A 21–52/1957; Kwanza river source, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 1/1959, 10–13/1959; Kwanza river margins, Luando Reserve – IICT/A 2–9/1959, 21/1959; |
|
48 |
Pyxicephalidae Bonaparte, 1850 | Amietia Dubois, 1987 | Amietia angolensis (Bocage, 1866) | Calombe – IICT/A 164–165/1959; Luena – IICT/A 21A/1957 |
|
3 |
Ranidae Batsch, 1796 | Amnirana Dubois, 199 | Amnirana darlingi (Boulenger, 1902) | Calombe – IICT/A 154/1959, 157/1959, 159/1959; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/A – 148–149/1959 |
|
5 |
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 259 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
CHELONII Brongiart, 1800 | |||||
Pelomedusidae Cope, 1868 | Pelomedusa Wagler, 1830 | Pelomedusa subrufa (Lacepède, 1788) | Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 4/1958 | 1 | |
Pelusios Wagler, 1830 | Pelusios bechuanicus FitzSimons, 1933 | Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 1/1958, 1A/1958, 2A/1958, 3/1958 | 4 | ||
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 | Hemidactylus longicephalus Bocage, 1873 | Quizambil mines – IICT/R 1–3/1957 |
|
3 |
Hemidactylus nzingae Ceríaco, Agarwal, Marques & Bauer, 2020 | Candande farm – IICT/R 4–5/1957 |
|
2 | ||
Amphisbaenidae Gray, 1825 | Dalophia Gray, 1865 | Dalophia angolensis Gans, 1976 | Calombe, 7 km “west” from Luena – IICT/R 50/1959, 167/1959, 204/1959, 265/1959, 294–296/1959, 298–300/1959, 318/1959, 387/1959, 399/1959, 430/1959 |
|
16 |
Zygaspis Cope, 1885 | Zygaspis nigra Broadley & Gans, 1969 | Calombe, 7 km “west” from Luena – IICT/R 44/1959, 203/1959, 314–316/1959, 339A/1959 | 6 | ||
Varanidae Hardwicke & Gray, 1824 | Varanus Merrem, 1820 | Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766) | Dilolo lake – IICT/R 108/1958 |
|
1 |
Lacertidae Bonaparte, 1831 | Ichnotropis Peters, 1854 | Ichnotropis bivittata Bocage, 1866 | Luena – IICT/R 136–137/1958; Luena (Santa Cruz farm) – IICT/R 229–231/1959; Cameia lake – IICT/R 5/1958; Calombe – IICT/R 58–60/1959, 79–81/1959, 244/1959, 252/1959, 267/1959, 277/1959, 279/1959, 320–323/1959, 339/1959, 374–375/1959, 410/1959, 420/1959, 437/1959; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Angola6–9 |
|
31 |
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Lubuya Horton, 1972 | Lubuya ivensii (Bocage, 1879) | Calombe – IICT/R 48/1959, 239/1959 |
|
2 |
Panaspis Cope, 1868 | Panaspis sp. | Calombe – IICT/R 268/1959, 276–277/1959, 288/1959 | 4 | ||
Sepsina Bocage, 1866 | Sepsina angolensis Bocage, 1866 | Calombe – IICT/R 47/1959, 79A–81A/1959, 200–201/1959, 264/1959, 386/1959, 409/1959, 416/1959, 431–432/1959, 436/1959, 438–439/1959, Angola1 | 16 | ||
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 | Trachylepis bayonii (Bocage, 1872) | Calombe – IICT/R 243/1959, 246/1959, 254–255/1959, 258/1959, 268–276/1959, 278/1959, 288/1959, 324–325/1959, 327–338/1959, 364–373/1959, 376–385/1959, 378A/1959, 385A/1959; 421–425/1959, 427–428/1959; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Angola18 |
|
60 |
Trachylepis sp. | Cameia lake – IICT/R 30–31/1958 | 2 | |||
Trachylepis wahlbergii (Peters, “1869” 1870) | Kuito – IICT/R 77/1957, 81/1957; Cameia lake – IICT/R 23/1958, 26/1958, 232/1959; Calombe – IICT/R 61–67/1959, 253/1959, 256–257/1959, 259/1959, 280/1959, 283/1959, 326/1959, 335/1959, 405/1959, 426/1959; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 79–84/1959, 124–125/1958; Luena – IICT/R 234–235/1959, 238/1959; Santa Cruz farm, Luena – IICT/R 138/1958; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Angola10–16 |
|
40 | ||
Gerrhosauridae Fitzinger, 1843 | Gerrhosaurus Wiegmann, 1828 | Gerrhosaurus bulsi Laurent, 1954 | Cameia lake – IICT/R 122/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 2/1958, 72/1958 |
|
3 |
Tetradactylus Merrem, 1820 | Tetradactylus ellenbergeri (Angel, 1922) | Calombe – IICT/R 310–313/1959, 319/1959 | 5 | ||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Acanthocercus Fitzinger, 1843 | Acanthocercus cyanocephalus (Falk, 1925) | Cachingues – IICT/R 83/1957; Cacolo – IICT/R 15–18/1959; Calombe – IICT/R 53–55/1959, 69/1959, 251/1959, 261/1959, 291/1959, 302/1959, 391/1959, 395/1959; Cassamba – IICT/R 40/1957; Luchazes – IICT/R 38/1957; Luena – IICT/R 28/1957, 33/1957; Lumbala Nguimbo – IICT/R 36–37/1957, Kuito – IICT/R 78/1957; Santa Cruz farm, Luena – IICT/R 133–135/1959, 139–141/1959 |
|
28 |
Agama Daudin, 1802 | Agama aculeata Merrem, 1820 | Cameia lake – IICT/R 27–28/1958; Calombe – IICT/R 57/1959, 68/1959, 70/1959, 262–263/1959, 360–361/1959, 401/1959, 407/1959, 449/1959, 450A/1959; Cassamba – IICT/R 39-1957; Huambo – IICT/R 86/1957 |
|
15 | |
Agama shacki Mertens, 1938 | Calandula [or Kalandula] waterfalls – IICT/R 32/1959, 32A/1959; outskirts of Huambo – IICT/R 84–85/1957 | 4 | |||
Agama sp. | Kwanza river waterfalls – IICT/R 8–11/1957 |
|
4 | ||
Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825 | Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768 | Chamaeleo dilepis Leach, 1819 | Cacolo – IICT/R 19/1957; Cameia lake – IICT/R 24/1958, 74/1958; Calombe – IICT/R 56/1959, 71/1959, 354–356/1959, 396–397/1959, 402–403/1959, 408/1959, 411/1959, 413–414/1959, 451/1959, 454–455/1959; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 85–96/1958, 123/1958; Luena (Santa Cruz farm) – IICT/R 131 132/1958, 146/1958, 146A/1958, 149/1959, 149A/1959; Luena –IICT/R 42/1959, 241/1959; Mutumbo – IICT/R 82-1957 |
|
41 |
SERPENTES | |||||
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Afrotyphlops Broadley & Wallach, 2009 | Afrotyphlops angolensis (Bocage, 1866) | Calombe Reserve – IICT/R 415A/1959, 416A/1959, 429/1959; Kwanza river source, Luando Reserve – IICT/R 34/1959 | 4 | |
Afrotyphlops sp. | Dundo – IICT/R Angola17 | 1 | |||
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Bitis Gray, 1842 | Bitis arietans (Merrem, 1820) | Luena – IICT/R Angola5 | 1 | |
Bitis gabonica (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | Moxico – IICT/R A-1966 | 1 | |||
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Causus Wagler, 1830 | Causus bilineatus Boulenger, 1905 | Cameia lake – IICT/R 12A/1958; Calombe – IICT/R 249/1959 |
|
2 |
Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1823) | Calombe – IICT/R 151–152/1958, 51/1959, 52A/1959, 209/1959, 290/1959, 304/1959, 306/1959, 309/1959, 386A/1959, 433/1959, 453/1959, 479/1959; Camanongue – IICT/R 75/1957; Cameia lake – IICT/R 75/1958; Cazombe river source – IICT/R 52/1959; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 126/1958; Luena (Santa Cruz farm) – IICT/R 145/1958; Luena – IICT/R 8/1959, Angola4, Angola19; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 28/1959, 31/1959, 33A/1959, 38/1959, 345/1959, 384A/1959, 410B/1959, 437A/1959, 438A/1959, 441/1959 |
|
31 | ||
Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Boaedon Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | Boaedon fradei Hallermann et al. 2020 | Calombe – IICT/R 150/1958, 5/1959, 40/1959, 341/1959, 350/1959, 400/1959, 404/1959, 410A/1959, 450/1959, 340/1968; Luena – IICT/R 240/1968 |
|
11 |
Lycophidion Fitzinger, 1843 | Lycophidion capense (Smith, 1831) | Calombe – IICT/R 292/1959, 448/1959 | 2 | ||
Psammophis Boie, 1825 | Psammophis angolensis (Bocage, 1872) | Cameia lake – IICT/R 7/1958 | 1 | ||
Psammophis mossambicus Peters, 1882 | Calombe – IICT/R 29/1959, 75/1959, 77/1959, 18/1959, 245/1959, 431A/1959, 443/1959, 452/1959; Cameia National Park – IICT/R 77/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 127/1958; Luena – IICT/R Angola20; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 12/1958, 14/1958 |
|
13 | ||
Psammophis zambiensis Hughes & Wade, 2002 | Calombe – IICT/R 303/1959; Cameia lake – IICT/R 30A/1958 |
|
2 | ||
Psammophylax acutus (Günther, 1888) | Calombe – IICT/R 210–227/1959, 285/1959, 434/1959, 444/1959 |
|
21 | ||
Psammophylax sp. | Menongue – IICT/R 15/1958 | 1 | |||
Prosymna Gray, 1849 | Prosymna angolensis Boulenger, 1915 | Milando – IICT/R 14/1957; Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 348–349, 348–349/1959 | 5 | ||
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Pseudohaje Günther, 1858 | Pseudohaje goldii (Boulenger, 1895) | Luachimo dam canal – IICT/R Angola3 | 1 | |
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Crotaphopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 | Crotaphopeltis barotseensis Broadley, 1968 | Dilolo lake – IICT/R 362/1959 | 1 | |
Crotaphoepltis hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768) | Calombe – IICT/R 109–110/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 362/1959, 406/1959, 417/1959 |
|
4 | ||
Dasypeltis Wagler, 1830 | Dasypeltis scabra (Linnaeus, 1758) | Calombe – IICT/R 447/1959 |
|
1 | |
Dipsadoboa Günther, 1858 | Dipsadoboa shrevei (Loveridge, 1932) | Calombe – IICT/R 4/1959 | 1 | ||
Dispholidus Duvernoy, 1832 | Dispholidus typus typus (Smith, 1828) | Calombe – IICT/R 76/1959, 457–458/1959; Luena (Santa Cruz farm) – IICT/R 142/1958, 147–148/1958; Luena – IICT/R 386/1958, 1–2/1959, 386/1968 |
|
9 | |
Dispholidus typus punctatus Laurent, 1955 | Calombe – IICT/R 76/1959 |
|
1 | ||
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Philothamnus Smith, 1840 | Philothamnus angolensis Bocage, 1882 | Candande farm – IICT/R 7/1957; Kuito – IICT/R 79/1957 |
|
2 |
Philothamnus heterolepidotus (Günther, 1863) | Calombe – IICT/R 78/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 121/1958, 130/1958; Lungué-Bungo river [or Lungwebungu] margins – IICT/R 41/1957, 247/1957; Uíge – IICT/R 17/1958 |
|
6 | ||
Natricidae Bomaparte, 1838 | Limnophis Günther, 1865 | Limnophis bangweolicus (Mertens, 1936) | Cameia lake – IICT/R 25/1958; Dilolo lake – IICT/R 107/1958, 251/1958 | 3 | |
Limnophis bicolor Günther, 1868 | Calombe – IICT/R 33/1959, 45/1959; Luena – IICT/R 37/1959; Forest patch, Luena – IICT/R 35/1959 | 4 | |||
Natriciteres Loveridge, 1953 | Natriciteres sp. | Angola [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 16/1958 | 1 | ||
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILES SPECIMENS | 418 |
The geographic range of this collection covers 38 different localities from 10 different provinces: Bengo, Bié, Cuando-Cubango, Huambo, Huíla, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, and Uíge (Table
Gazetteer of Angola localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Province | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bengo | Minas do Quizambil | Quizambil mines | -8.3166667, 13.733333 | 301 | 262 | 1/3 |
Bié | Cachingues | Cachingues | -13.071851, 16.749528 | 954 | 1713 | 1/1 |
Bié | Mutumbo | Mutumbo | -13.183333, 17.4 | 430 | 1452 | 1/1 |
Bié | Silva Porto | Kuito | -12.391968, 16.93867 | 2060 | 1716 | 3/4 |
Cuando Cubango | Menongue? | Menongue | -14.666667, 17.7 | 3060 | 1378 | 1/1 |
Huambo | Nova Lisboa [or arredores de Nova Lisboa] | Huambo [or outskirts of Huambo] | -12.766667, 15.733333 | 5000 | 1719 | 2/3 |
Huíla | Colonata de Caconda | Caconda | -13.735583, 15.066912 | 1600 | 1670 | 1/1 |
Huíla | Sá da Bandeira | Lubango | -14.916667, 13.5 | 6100 | 1751 | 1/1 |
Lunda Norte | Cacolo, Mennungo [or Cacolo, Minungo] | Cacolo | -10.14172, 19.267969 | 1832 | 1351 | 2/5 |
Lunda Norte | Canal da Barragem de Luachimo | Luachimo Dam canal | -7.361733, 20.84899 | 980 | 643 | 1/1 |
Lunda Norte | Dundo | Dundo | -7.377554, 20.835054 | 2240 | 731 | 1/1 |
Lunda Norte | Vila Henrique Carvalho | Saurimo | -9.662523, 20.39485 | 5000 | 1075 | 1/1 |
Malanje | Quedas do Duque de Bragança | Calandula [or Kalandula] waterfalls | -9.073248, 16.001402 | 800 | 1064 | 4/12 |
Malanje | Posto do Milando | Milando | -8.8166667, 17.566667 | 600 | 666 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Calombe-Luso, Moxico | Calombe | -11.833333, 19.933333 | 3060 | 1345 | 37/249 |
Moxico | Calombe (7 km de Vila Luso) | Calombe, 7 km “west” from Luena | -11.833333, 19.933333 | 3060 | 1345 | 2/20 |
Moxico | Cameia | Cameia National Park | -11.883333, 21.666667 | 10000 | 1092 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Cascata do Rio Cuanza, Cangandala | Kwanza River waterfall | -9.874712, 16.670194 | 3060 | 1086 | 1/4 |
Moxico | Cassamba | Cassamba | -13.093312, 20.346395 | 2500 | 1345 | 2/2 |
Moxico | Fazenda Santa Cruz, Luso | Santa Cruz farm, Luena | -11.783333, 19.916667 | 3060 | 1337 | 6/19 |
Moxico | Lago Cameia | Cameia lake | -11.716667, 20.8 | 980 | 1110 | 16/63 |
Moxico | Lago Dilolo | Dilolo lake | -11.5, 22.016667 | 4350 | 1088 | 14/44 |
Moxico | Lucusse | Lucusse | -12.526722, 20.818813 | 1758 | 1144 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Vila Gago Coutinho | Lumbala Nguimbo | -14.101654, 21.435308 | 2051 | 1122 | 1/2 |
Moxico | Luvuei | Luvuei | -13.066667, 21.166667 | 1132 | 1136 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Margens do Rio Lungué | Lungué-Bungo river [or Lungwebungu] margins | -12.45, 20.05 | 1300 | 1184 | 1/2 |
Moxico | Mata da Horta dos Padres, Luso | Horta dos Padres woods, Luena | -11.783333, 19.916667 | 3060 | 1337 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Moxico | Moxico [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/1 |
Moxico | Nascente do Rio Cazombe, Luso | Cazombe river source | -11.883333, 22.916667 | 3060 | 1116 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Vila Luso [or Luso]; | Luena | -11.783333, 19.916667 | 3060 | 1337 | 14/26 |
Moxico | Polígono Florestal, Luso | Forest patch, Luena | -11.783333, 19.916667 | 10000 | 1330 | 1/1 |
Moxico | Posto do Bussaco | Camanongue | -11.433333, 20.166667 | 2000 | 1258 | 2/33 |
Moxico | Reserva da Palanca Preta, Nascente do Rio Quanza | Kwanza river source, Luando Reserve [or Kwanza river margins] | -11.116667, 17.46666667 | 3060 | 1191 | 2/14 |
Moxico | Rio Caluando (Reserva da Palanca Preta) | Caluando river, Luando Reserve | -11.126218, 17.504279 | 5000 | 1174 | 4/10 |
Moxico | Rio Calombe [Rio Calombe (Reserva da Palanca Preta)] | Calombe river | -11.833333, 19.916667 | 1370 | 1349 | 9/96 |
Moxico | Serra Luchazes | Luchazes | -13.9166667, 20.8 | 600 | 1271 | 1/1 |
Uíge | Fazenda Otília, Enconge | Candande Farm | -7.55, 15.03 | 980 | 763 | 2/3 |
Uíge | Uíge | Uíge | -7.6166667, 15.05 | 4829 | 825 | 1/1 |
– | Angola | Angola [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 12/41 |
Part of the snake and lizard collections was studied and published by
The collection holds type material for several species: Dalophia angolensis Gans, 1976 (holotype and 18 paratypes); Queen Nzinga’s Tropical Gecko, Hemidactylus nzingae Ceríaco, Agarwal, Marques & Bauer, 2020 (two paratypes); and Frade’s Brown House Snake, Boaedon fradei Hallermannn, Ceríaco, Schmitz, Ernst Conradie, Verburgt, Marques & Bauer, 2020 (five paratypes). The IICT holds one of the largest known herpetological collections from Angola, with 677 specimens. Currently, the largest collection of Angolan amphibians and reptiles is held by
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
Mozambique has a high diversity of amphibians and reptiles but remains relatively unexplored when compared with other southern African regions (
The collection comprises 1181 specimens (532 amphibians and 649 reptiles), 26 species of amphibians, and 70 species of reptiles and two subspecies (Table
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Pipidae Gray, 1825 | Xenopus Wagler, 1827 | Xenopus muelleri (Peters, 1844) | Porto Henrique – IICT/A 1–9/1948, 10–19/1948; Chizizira – IICT/A 1/1965; Gorongosa – IICT/A 44/1955, 49–54/1955, 69–76/1955, 85–90/1955; Caniçado, B.T.L. vivarium – IICT/A 42–42/1963, 278–283/1955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 38–39/1966 | Manaças (1950); |
50 |
Bufonidae (Gray, 1825) | Schismaderma Smith, 1849 | Schismaderma carens (Smith, 1848) | Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/A 185–189/1948, 209/1948; Matola – IICT/A 252–255/1948; Moamba – IICT/A 171–179/1948 | Manaças (1950), |
19 |
Sclerophrys Tschudi, 1838 | Sclerophrys garmani (Meek, 1897) | Boane – IICT/A 10/1963, 21/1963, 35/1948, 38/1948, 59/1948, 61/1948, 67/1948, 69/1948; Caniçado, watering channel – IICT/A 24–32/1963, 89/1963, 91/1963, 103/1963, 106/1963; Caniçado – IICT/A 60/1963; Centro Social – IICT/A 114/1963; Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/A 190–215/1948; Guijá – IICT/A 81–83/1963; Manhiça – IICT/A 257/1948; Maqueze – IICT/A 239–245/1948; Moamba – IICT/A 180/1948; Mucomaze – IICT/A 22–33/1948; Porto Henrique – IICT/A 39/1948, 286/1948; Lagoa de S. Matinho – IICT/A 315–318/1955 Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A Moz3 | Manaças (1950); |
81 | |
Sclerophrys gutturalis (Power, 1927) | Centro Social – IICT/A 5/1964; Chizizira – IICT/A 18–20/1966; Dondo – IICT/A 163–166/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/A 7–19/1955, 78/1955, 82–83/1955, 95–96/1955, 118–123/1955, 144–147/1955, 152–156/1955, 171–175/1955; Guijá – IICT/A 80/1963; Mauele – IICT/A 79–102/1948; Sussundenga – IICT/A 30–31/1966, 36/1966; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 67A/1948, 309–315/1955, Moz4 | Manaças (1950); |
83 | ||
Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937) | Chizizira – IICT/A 33–34/1966; Gorongosa – IICT/A 97–100/1955, 157/1955 |
|
7 | ||
Sclerophrys sp. | Licungo river – IICT/A Moz1; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 308/1955 | 3 | |||
Microhylidae Günther, 1858 (1843) | Phrynomantis Peters, 1867 | Phrynomantis bifasciatus (Smith, 1847) | Lagoa Chicungue, Bilene – IICT/A 320/1955 |
|
1 |
Brevicipitidae Bonaparte, 1850 | Breviceps Merrem, 1820 | Breviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854 | Manhiça – IICT/A 68/1948; Ponta do Ouro – IICT/A 34/1948 | Manaças (1950); |
2 |
Hemisotidae Cope, 1867 | Hemisus Günther, 1859 | Hemisus marmoratus (Peters, 1854) | Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 258/1948 |
|
1 |
Hyperoliidae Laurent, 1943 | Hyperolius Rapp, 1842 | Hyperolius marmoratus Rapp, 1842 | Chimoio – IICT/A 74–75/1948; Manhiça – IICT/A 249–250/ 1948, 54–57/1948, 72/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/A 20/1955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 298/1955, Moz2 | Manaças (1950) | 12 |
Hyperolius sp. | Maluana – IICT/A 69/1963; Gorongosa – IICT/A 45/1955 | 2 | |||
Hyperolius tuberilinguis Smith, 1849 | Boane – IICT/A 22/1963; Chimoio – IICT/A 25–29/1966; Ulongué – IICT/A 162/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/A 48/1955 | 8 | |||
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena guibei Laurent, 1954 | Gorongosa – IICT/A 55/1955 | 1 | |
Ptychadena mascareniensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | Manhiça – IICT/A 62–63/1948; Magaiza, Panda – IICT/A 246/1948; Mauele – IICT/A 103–140/1948, 142–161/1948; Pafuri – IICT/A 77/1948; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 289/1955 | Manaças (1950); |
63 | ||
Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 | Ptychadena Boulenger, 1917 | Ptychadena oxyrhynchus (Smith, 1849) | Gorongosa – IICT/A 56–68/1955, 133–137/1955, 161/1955 |
|
19 |
Ptychadena taenioscelis Laurent, 1954 | Mucomaze – IICT/A 21/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/A 295/1955 |
|
2 | ||
Phrynobatrachidae Laurent, 1941 | Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862 | Phrynobatrachus mababiensis FitzSimons, 1932 | Pafuri – IICT/A 76/1948, 78/1948; Umbeluzi – IICT/A 297/1955 |
|
3 |
Phrynobatrachus natalensis (Smith, 1849) | Namaacha – IICT/A 41/1948, 43/1948, 45/1948, 49–52/1948; Luá (Ile) river – IICT/A 1–2/1955 |
|
12 | ||
Pyxicephalidae Bonaparte, 1850 | Amietia Dubois, 1987 | Amietia angolensis (Bocage, 1866) | Gorongosa – IICT/A 3–6/1955, 21–41/1955, 47/1955, 91–94/1955, 101–131/1955, 138–143/1955, 148–151/1955, 158–160/1955, 167–170/1955, 272–275/1955, 284–28871955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 29A/1955, Moz5 |
|
83 |
Cacosternum Boulenger, 1887 | Cacosternum cf. boettgeri (Boulenger, 1882) | Gorongosa Mount – IICT/A 225/1955 |
|
1 | |
Cacosternum cf. nanum (Boulenger, 1887) | Gorongosa – IICT/A 42/1955 |
|
1 | ||
Pyxicephalus Tschudi, 1838 | Pyxicephalus edulis Peters, 1854 | Caniçado – IICT/A 90/1963, 92–93/1963; Caniçado, watering channel – IICT/A 101–109/1963; Chibuto – IICT/A 181–182/1948; Namaacha – IICT/A 40/1948; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – 286A/1955 |
|
14 | |
Strongylopus Tschudi, 1838 | Strongylopus rhodesianus (Hewitt, 1933) | Gorongosa Mount – IICT/A 176–197/1955 |
|
22 | |
Tomopterna Duméril & Bibron, 1841 | Tomopterna marmorata Peters, 1854 | Manhiça – IICT/A 60/1948, 256/1948 |
|
2 | |
Ranidae Batsch, 1796 | Amnirana Dubois, 199 | Amnirana darlingi (Boulenger, 1902) | Umbeluzi – IICT/A 291–294/1955 |
|
4 |
Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932 [1858] | Chiromantis Peters, 1854 | Chiromantis xerampelina Peters, 1854 | Chicualacuala – IICT/A 73/1948; Enchisa – IICT/A 20/1948; Manhiça – IICT/A 251/1948; Maqueze – IICT/A 216–232/1948, 234–238/1948; Limpopo river margins – IICT/A 61–66/1963, 74/1963; Moamba – IICT/A 168–170/1948 | Manaças (1950); |
35 |
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 532 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
CROCODYLIA Gmelin, 1789 | |||||
Crocodylidae Cuvier, 1808 | Crocodylus Laurenti, 1768 | Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti, 1768 | Nhaluiro – IICT/R 13–16/1971 | 4 | |
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Afroedura Loveridge, 1944 | Afroedura loveridgei Broadley, 1963 | Viola, Mazowe River Bridge – IICT/R/DB UM 3992 | Broadley (1963) | 1 |
Chondrodactylus Peters, 1870 | Chondrodactylus turneri (Gray, 1864) | Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/R 1345/1948; Enchisa – IICT/R 178/1948; Magaiza, Panda – IICT/R 1638–1640/1948 |
|
5 | |
Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 | Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) | Chibuto – IICT/R 1320–1322/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1582/1952; Nhaluiro – IICT/R 8–10/1971; Gorongosa – IICT/R 114/1955, 148–149/1955 |
|
10 | |
Homopholis Boulenger, 1885 | Homopholis wahlbergii (Smith, 1849) | Homoíne – IICT/R 111/1963 | 1 | ||
Lygodactylus Gray, 1864 | Lygodactylus capensis (Smith, 1849) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 7–8/1955, 14/1955, 16/1955, 115/1955, 146–149/1955, 153A/1955; Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 132A/1948, 1782–1783/1948; Manhiça – IICT/R 644–646/1948; |
|
16 | |
Amphisbaenidae Gray, 1825 | Monopeltis Smith, 1848 | Monopeltis sphenorhynchus (Peters, 1879) | Manhiça – IICT/R 532–538/1948 |
|
8 |
Zygaspis Cope, 1885 | Zygaspis violacea (Peters, 1854) | Manhiça – IICT/R 524–531/1948, 1747/1948 |
|
9 | |
Varanidae Hardwicke & Gray, 1824 | Varanus Merrem, 1820 | Varanus exanthematicus (Bosc, 1792) | Caniçado – IICT/R 39-1963 | 1 | |
Lacertidae Bonaparte, 1831 | Heliobolus Fitzinger, 1843 | Heliobolus lugubris (Smith, 1938) | Pafuri – IICT/R 727/1948 | Manaças (1961) | 1 |
Nucras Gray, 1838 | Nucras cf. holubi (Steindachner, 1882) | Boane – IICT/R 52/1963; Gorongosa – IICT/R 36/1955, 131/1955, 137–138/1955; Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 1792–1795/1948; Namaacha – IICT/R 400/1948 |
|
10 | |
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Acontias Cuvier, 1816 [1817] | Acontias aurantiacus (Peters, 1854) | Mauele – IICT/R 1023/1948, 1151–1152/1948, 1196/1948, 1199/1948 |
|
5 |
Mochlus Günther, 1864 | Mochlus sundevalli (Smith, 1849) | Mauele – IICT/R 1164–1167/1948, 1581/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/R 28/1955 |
|
6 | |
Panaspis Cope, 1868 | Panaspis wahlbergii (Smith, 1849) | Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 1790–1791/1948 |
|
2 | |
Scelotes Fitzinger, 1826 | Scelotes arenicola (Peters, 1854) | Mauele – IICT/R 1153–1156/1948, 1200–1202/1948 |
|
7 | |
Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 | Trachylepis boulengeri (Sternfeld, 1911) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 116/1955 | 1 | ||
Trachylepis depressa (Peters, 1854) | Mauele – IICT/R 1584/1948 |
|
1 | ||
Trachylepis margaritifera (Peters, 1854) | Nhandare river margins, Gorongosa – IICT/R 10–13/1955, 13A/1955; Nhandare river, Gorongosa – IICT/R 30–31/1955; Namaacha – IICT/R 348/1948, 414–415/1948, 441–449/1948; Nhaluiro – IICT/R 4/1971, 7/1971; Sussundenga – IICT/R 10–11/1955 |
|
23 | ||
Trachylepis sp. | Mauele – IICT/R 1582/1948; Porto Henrique – IICT/R 235/1948 | 2 | |||
Trachylepis striata (Peters, 1844) | Boane – IICT/R 14/1963, 16/1963, 45/1963, 51/1963, 53–54/1963; Caniçado, watering channel – IICT/R 59/1963; Chibuto, Ribeira de Guenguela – IICT/R 1354–1357/1948; Dondo – IICT/R 911/1948; Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 132C/1948; Limpopo river Dam – IICT/R 33–34/1963; Manhiça – IICT/R 561–613/1948, 1692–1694/1948, 1719/1948, 1744/1948, 1962–1964/1948; Maqueze, Alto Changane – IICT/R 1504–1515/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1024–1032/1948, 1160–1162/1948, 1184–1192/1948; Moamba – IICT/R 1297–1298/1948, 1323/1948; Mutuali – IICT/R Moz10; Nhaluiro – IICT/R 1–3/1971, 5–6/1971; São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R 178/1955; road between Inhassoro and Vilanculos – IICT/R 2/1955; Sussundenga – IICT/R 17/1964; Umbeluzi – IICT/R 1–6/1963; Gorongosa – IICT/R 32–33/1955, 87–92/1955 |
|
135 | ||
Trachylepis varia (Peters, 1867) | Enchisa – IICT/R 179/1948; Gorongosa Mount – IICT/R 144/1955; Gorongosa – IICT/R 34–35/1955, 117/1955, 144/1955; Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 1789/1948, 1789A/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1163/1948, 1588/1948; Namaacha – IICT/R 417/1948 |
|
17 | ||
Cordylidae Mertens, 1937 | Smaug Stanley, Bauer, Jackman, Branch & Mouton (2011) | Smaug mossambicus (FitzSimons, 1958) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 29/1955 | 1 | |
Cordylidae Mertens, 1937 | Platysaurus Smith, 1844 | Platysaurus intermedius wilhelmi Hewitt, 1909 | Namaacha – IICT/R 418–420/1948, 450–454/1948; 15 mls SE of Manica – IICT/R/DB UM 3579 |
|
9 |
Platysaurus maculatus lineicauda Broadley, 1965 | 14 mls west of Morrumbala – IICT/R/DB UM 7981 |
|
1 | ||
Platysaurus maculatus maculatus Broadley, 1965 | Mitucué Mountains – IICT/R/DB UM 8064, 8071 |
|
2 | ||
Gerrhosauridae Fitzinger, 1843 | Gerrhosaurus Wiegmann, 1828 | Gerrhosaurus flavigularis Wiegmann, 1828 | Gorongosa – IICT/R 59–60/1955; 124/1955, 127/1955, 156/1955; Manhiça – IICT/R 1691/1948; Mutuali – IICT/R 1/1953; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz12 |
|
8 |
Matobosaurus Bates & Tolley, 2013 | Matobosaurus validus (Smith, 1849) | Centro Social – IICT/R 6/1965; Gorongosa – IICT/R 39/1955, 121/1955; Nhandare river margins, Gorongosa – IICT/R 9/1955; Namaacha – IICT/R 416/1948 | Manaças (1961) | 5 | |
Tetradactylus Merrem, 1820 | Tetradactylus cf. ellenbergeri (Angel, 1922) | Meponda – IICT/R Moz6 | 2 | ||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Acanthocercus Fitzinger, 1843 | Acanthocercus atricollis (Smith, 1849) | Boane – IICT/R 17/1963; Caniçado, B.T.L. vivarium – IICT/R 69–70/1963, Moz16; Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/R 1326–1344/1948, 1429–1436/1948; Guijá – IICT/R 964–966/1948; Inharrime – IICT/R 110/1963; Manhiça – IICT/R 553–560/1948; Maqueze, Alto Changane – IICT/R 1499–1500/1948; Limpopo river margins – IICT/R 79/1963; Namaacha – IICT/R 349–413/1948; Sussundenga – IICT/R 39/1966 |
|
57 |
Agama Daudin, 1802 | Agama armata Peters, 1855 | Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 132B/1948, 1784–1788/1948; Manhiça – IICT/R 1695/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1204–1212/1948; Sussundenga – IICT/R 16–22/1966 |
|
20 | |
Agama mossambica Peters, 1854 | Centro Social – IICT/R 7/1964; Dondo – IICT/R 898–904/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/R 5–6/1955, 18–26/1955, 61/1955, 64–70/1955, 93–97/1955, 111–113/1955, 128–129/1955, 132–134/1955, 139–141/1955 | Manaças (1961) | 41 | ||
Agama kirkii Boulenger, 1885 | Centro Social – IICT/R 8–9/1964; Sussundenga IICT/R 2–4/1964, 12–15/1966 | 9 | |||
Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825 | Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768 | Chamaeleo dilepis Leach, 1819 | Boane – IICT/R 12–13/1963, 15/1963; Caniçado IICT/R 67–68/1963, 84–85/1963, 95–97/1963; Gorongosa – IICT/R 471955, 27/1955, 71–80/1955, 81A/1955, 82/1955, 98–99/1955, 100–102/1955, 108–110/1955, 122/1955, 125–126/1955, 161–165/1955, 166–167/1955; Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/R 1346–1353/1948, 1354A/1948, 1356A/1948, 1426–1428/1948, 1439–1440/1948; Guijá – IICT/R 37–38/1948, 58/1963, 71/1963, 115/1963; Lifidzi, Angónia – IICT/R 1796–1800/1948; Manhiça IICT/R 1801/1948, 614/1948, 616–620/1948, 642/1948; Matola – IICT/R 20/1963; Mocuba – IICT/R 3A/1955; São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R 174–177/1955 |
|
81 |
Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844 | Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz17 | 1 | |||
Rhampholeon Günther, 1874 | Rhampholeon gorongosae Broadley, 1971 | Gorongosa – IICT/R 145/1955 | 1 | ||
SERPENTES | |||||
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Afrotyphlops Broadley & Wallach, 2009 | Afrotyphlops cf. fornasinii (Bianconi, 1849) | Mauele – IICT/R 1157–1159/1948 | 3 | |
Afrotyphlops cf. mucruso (Peters, 1854) | Chizizira – IICT/R 38/1966; Nhaluiro – IICT/R 1A/1971; Pafuri – IICT/R Moz26 | 3 | |||
Afrotyphlops cf. schlegelii (Bianconi, 1849) | Meponda – IICT/R Moz5; Nova Mambone – IICT/R Moz3; presumably Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz25 | 3 | |||
Leptotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 | Leptotyphlops incongnitus (Broadley & Watson, 1976) | Cafumpe – IICT/R 63/1948 |
|
1 | |
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Bitis Gray, 1842 | Bitis arietans (Merrem, 1820) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 17/1955, 40A/1955, 43–44/1955, 150/1955; Govuro IICT/R 5/1956; Manhiça IICT/R 797/1948; Tchizigine – IICT/R 10/1964; Ulongué – IICT/R 103/1948; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz7, Moz8 |
|
11 |
Causus Wagler, 1830 | Causus defilippii (Jan, 1863) | Chimoio – IICT/R 35/1966; Gorongosa – IICT/R 49/1955, 82–83/1955 |
|
4 | |
Causus cf. rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1823) | Metengo Balama – IICT/R 2/1949 |
|
1 | ||
Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Amblyodipsas Peters, 1857 | Amblyodipsas microphthalma (Bianconi, 1852) | Mauele – IICT/R 948/1948, 1150/1948 |
|
2 |
Amblyodipsas polylepis (Bocage, 1873) | Nova Mambone – IICT/R 2/1956 | 1 | |||
Aparallactus Smith, 1849 | Aparallactus capensis Smith, 1849 | Mauele – IICT/R 1012/1948, 1194/1948; Sussundenga – IICT/R 16/1964; Porto Henrique – IICT/R 1642/1948 | 4 | ||
Aparallactus lunulatus (Peters, 1854) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 54/1955 |
|
1 | ||
Atractaspis Smith, 1849 | Atractaspis bibronii Smith, 1849 | Gorongosa – IICT/R 57/1955 | 1 | ||
Boaedon Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | Boaedon capensis Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | Boane – IICT/R 8–9/1963; Manhiça – IICT/R 1682/1948, 1684/1948, 1687/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1248/1948; Namaacha – IICT/R 460/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/R 62/1955, 106/1955, 143/1955; Ulongué – IICT/R 1/1947; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 40/1967 |
|
12 | |
Boaedon sp. | Pafuri – IICT/R Moz11 | 1 | |||
Limaformosa Broadley, Tolley, Conradie, Wishart, Trape, Burger, Kusamba, Zassi-Boulou & Greenbaum, 2018 | Limaformosa capensis (Smith, 1847) | Chibuto – IICT/R 1425/1948 |
|
1 | |
Lycophidion Fitzinger, 1843 | Lycophidion capense (Smith, 1831) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 56/1955 |
|
1 | |
Psammophis Boie, 1825 | Psammophis mossambicus Peters, 1882 | Boane – IICT/R Moz1; Gorongosa – IICT/R 47/1955; Manhiça – IICT/R 1685–1686/1948; Maputo – IICT/R 241/1948; Mauele – IICT/R 157/1948, 1015/1948; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 7/1955; São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R Moz 14–15; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz9, 21–23 |
|
14 | |
Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Psammophis Boie, 1825 | Psammophis orientalis Broadley, 1977 | Inhassoro – IICT/R 3/1955; Gorongosa – IICT/R 48/1963, 84–86/1955, 160/1955; Nhaluiro – IICT/R 2/1971; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 12/1956 |
|
9 |
Psammophylax Fitzinger, 1843 | Psammophylax tritaeniatus (Günther, 1868) | Metengo Balama – IICT/R 3/1949; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 252 |
|
2 | |
Xenocalamus Günther, 1868 | Xenocalamus bicolor lineatus Roux, 1907 | Manhiça – IICT/R 1589/1948, 1688/1948 |
|
2 | |
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Aspidelaps Fitzinger, 1843 | Aspidelaps scutatus Smith, 1849 | Mauele – IICT/R 1174/1948 | Manaças (1961) | 3 |
Dendroaspis Schlegel, 1848 | Dendroaspis angusticeps (Smith, 1849) | São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R 70A/1955 | 1 | ||
Dendroaspis polylepis Günther, 1864 | Maputo – IICT/R 173/1955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 88/1948 | 2 | |||
Elapsoidea Bocage, 1866 | Elapsoidea boulengeri Boettger, 1895 | Guijá – IICT/R 969-1948; Mauele – IICT/R 1193/1948, 1218/1948 | 2 | ||
Elapsoidea sundevallii Smith, 1848 | Mauele – IICT/R 1218/1948 | 1 | |||
Naja Laurenti, 1768 | Naja annulifera Peters, 1854 | Moamba – IICT/R 1278/1948; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz9 | 2 | ||
Naja mossambica Peters, 1854 | Chinde – IICT/R 4/1949; Gorongosa – IICT/R 38/1955 |
|
2 | ||
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Crotaphopeltis Fitzinger, 1843 | Crotaphoepltis hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768) | Mauele – IICT/R 1276/1948; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 3/1956; Porto Henrique – IICT/R 1641/1948; São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R 170/1955; Gorongosa – IICT/R 46/1955, 53/1955, 55/1955, 81/1955, 105/1955, 119/1955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz18 |
|
11 |
Dasypeltis Wagler, 1830 | Dasypeltis scabra (Linnaeus, 1758) | Maqueze, Alto Changane – IICT/R 1501/1948 |
|
1 | |
Dipsadoboa Günther, 1858 | Dipsadoboa aulica (Günther, 1864) | Chibuto – IICT/R 1324/1948; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 1A/1956 |
|
2 | |
Dispholidus Duvernoy, 1832 | Dispholidus typus (Smith, 1828) | Chibuto – IICT/R 1422–1423/1948; Gorongosa – IICT/R 45/1955, 107/1955, 118/1955, 136/1955; Guenguela stream, Chibuto – IICT/R 1424/1948; Manhiça – IICT/R 1683/1948; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 2A/1948; São Martinho do Bilene – IICT/R 171/1955; |
|
10 | |
Philothamnus Smith, 1840 | Philothamnus angolensis Bocage, 1882 | Angónia – IICT/R 5/1949; Gorongosa – IICT/R 45A/1955, 58/1955, 130/1955, 154/1955, 157–158/1955; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Moz20 | 8 | ||
Philothamnus hoplogaster (Günther, 1863) | Chizizira – IICT/R 15/1964; Gorongosa – IICT/R 123/1956, 153/1956, 155/1956, 159/1956; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 1/1956 |
|
6 | ||
Philothamnus semivariegatus (Smith, 1840) | Chizizira – IICT/R 11/1964; Gorongosa – IICT/R 103/1955; Meponda, Niassa lake – IICT/R Moz2; Meponda – IICT/R Moz4; Nova Mambone – IICT/R 4/1956; Sussundenga – IICT/R 14/1964; Mozambique [undetermined locality] – IICT/R A/1948, Moz24 |
|
8 | ||
Telescopus Wagler, 1830 | Telescopus semiannulatus Smith, 1849 | Nova Mambone – IICT/R 8/1956; Pafuri – IICT/R 725/1948 | 2 | ||
Thelotornis Smith, 1849 | Thelotornis capensis Smith, 1849 | Gorongosa – IICT/R 50–51/1955, 130A/1955, 151–152/1955 | 5 | ||
Natricidae Bomaparte, 1838 | Natriciteres Loveridge, 1953 | Natriciteres olivacea (Peters, 1854) | Gorongosa – IICT/R 52/1955, 120/1955; Tchizine – IICT/R 12/1964 |
|
3 |
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILES SPECIMENS | 649 |
Geographically, these specimens are from 62 different localities distributed in the nine provinces of the country (Table
Gazetteer of Mozambique localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Province | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gaza | Alferes Chamusca, canal de rega (Guijá) [or Viveiro de B.T.L., Guijá, Alferes Chamusca] | Caniçado [or Caniçado, watering channel; or Caniçado, B.T.L. vivarium] | -24.49750, 33.01333 | 9059 | 34 | 7/38 |
Gaza | Barragem do Rio Limpopo | Limpopo river Dam | -24.384942, 32.862182 | 3182 | 36 | 1/2 |
Gaza | Chibuto | Chibuto | -24.689738, 33.538492 | 3660 | 104 | 5/9 |
Gaza | Chicuala-Cuala | Chicualacuala [a.k.a Eduardo Mondlane] | -22.079167, 31.678611 | 3036 | 456 | 1/1 |
Gaza | Guijá | Guijá | -24.418921, 32.901765 | 11027 | 36 | 5/13 |
Gaza | Ribeira de Guenguela, Chibuto | Guenguela stream, Chibuto | -24.69473, 33.520468 | 3113 | 22 | 7/79 |
Gaza | Maquese | Maqueze | -24.279167, 33.566667 | 3036 | 23 | 2/29 |
Gaza | Maquese (Alto Changane) | Maqueze, Alto Changane | -23.394722, 33.831389 | 3996 | 57 | 3/15 |
Gaza | Margens do Rio Limpopo | Limpopo river margins | -25.19361, 33.52583 | 3036 | 8 | 2/8 |
Gaza | Pafuri [or Mabaça (Pafuri)] | Pafuri | -22.453056, 31.332778 | 500 | 223 | 6/7 |
Inhambane | Govuro | Govuro | -21.33047, 34.59716 | 3036 | 127 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | Homoíne | Homoíne | -23.884444, 35.151389 | 3036 | 108 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | Inharime | Inharrime | -24.476944, 35.030278 | 3036 | 39 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | Inhassoro | Inhassoro | -21.534722, 35.202222 | 3036 | 42 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | Magaiza (Panda) | Magaiza, Panda | -23.847222, 34.199444 | 2639 | 108 | 2/4 |
Inhambane | Mauele | Mauele [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 20/149 |
Inhambane | Mambone | Nova Mambone | -20.988056, 35.022222 | 500 | 5 | 10/10 |
Inhambane | Panda | Panda | -24.063333, 34.730278 | 7220 | 160 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | Inhassoro, Vilanculos | road between Inhassoro and Vilanculos | -21.803504, 35.117303 | 27302 | 23 | 1/1 |
Inhambane | S. Martinho de Bilene | São Martinho do Bilene / Lagoa São Martinho / Lagoa Chicungue, Bilene | -25.281111, 33.253889 | 10000 | 21 | 8/16 |
Manica | 15 mls SE of Vila Manica, P.E.A. | 15 mls SE of Vila Manica, P.E.A. | -18.933332, 32.877127 | 1000 | 700 | 1/1 |
Manica | Chimoio [or Vila Perry] | Bengo, Chimoio | -19.110117, 33.462887 | 4772 | 715 | 3/8 |
Manica | Cafumpe | Cafumpe | -19.101389, 33.570278 | 765 | 715 | 1/1 |
Manica | Chizizira [or Posto Piscicola Chizizira] | Chizizira | -19.448611, 33.297222 | 3433 | 536 | 6/9 |
Manica | Sussundenga | Sussundenga | -19.403889, 33.290278 | 3036 | 600 | 8/20 |
Maputo | Boame [or Boane] | Boane | -26.041667, 32.325278 | 3036 | 51 | 8/24 |
Maputo | Centro Social | Centro Social [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 5/6 |
Maputo | Echisa (Maputo) | Alto Enchisa | -26.329907, 32.264797 | 4298 | 47 | 3/3 |
Maputo | Maluana | Maluana | -25.495, 32.654167 | 2000 | 62 | 1/1 |
Maputo | Manhiça | Manhiça | -25.402222, 32.807222 | 6500 | 22 | 19/121 |
Maputo | Lourenço Marques | Maputo | -25.965278, 32.589167 | 7000 | 21 | 2/2 |
Maputo | Matola | Matola | -25.962222, 32.458889 | 7317 | 42 | 2/6 |
Maputo | Mohamba [or Mohamba, Chibuto, or Moamba] | Moamba | -25.596111, 32.243333 | 3036 | 112 | 6/18 |
Maputo | Mucomaze, Maputo | Mucomaze | -26.733333, 32.816667 | 3036 | 30 | 2/13 |
Maputo | Namaacha | Namaacha | -25.982624, 32.027959 | 3036 | 575 | 9/40 |
Maputo | Porto Henrique, Maputo [or Porto Henriques] | Porto Henrique | -26.3, 32.348889 | 1000 | 32 | 5/24 |
Maputo | Ponta do Ouro, Maputo | Ponta do Ouro | -26.842778, 32.896944 | 1807 | 34 | 1/1 |
Maputo | Umbeluzi | Umbeluzi | -26.028333, 32.39 | 1977 | 16 | 3/11 |
Nampula | Mutuali | Mutuali | -14.870556, 37.004444 | 4000 | 587 | 2/2 |
Niassa | Meponda, Lago Niassa | Meponda, Lago Niassa | -13.421667, 34.871667 | 2071 | 476 | 1/1 |
Niassa | Meponda | Meponda | -13.421667, 34.871667 | 3036 | 483 | 3/3 |
Niassa | Mitucué Mountains, Niassa | Mitucué Mountains | -14.731545, 36.66941 | 5311 | 1136 | 1/2 |
Sofala | Dondo | Dondo | -19.609444, 34.743056 | 1787 | 55 | 3/10 |
Sofala | Margens do Rio Nhandare, Gorongosa [or Vila Paiva de Andrada, Rio Nhantare] | Nhandare river margins, Gorongosa [or Nhandare river, Gorongosa] | -18.74608, 34.05541 | 35862 | 205 | 2/8 |
Sofala | Serra da Gorongosa | Mount Gorongosa | -18.41098, 34.086773 | 13178 | 1487 | 3/24 |
Sofala | Vila Paiva de Andrada [or Gorongosa] | Gorongosa | -18.684092, 34.070301 | 1815 | 372 | 40/331 |
Tete | Angónia | Angónia | -14.715833, 34.373056 | 40000 | 1250 | 1/1 |
Tete | Fumo- Chide, Angónia | Chidê | -14.619722, 34.085278 | 460 | 1147 | 1/1 |
Tete | Lifidzi (Angónia) | Lifidzi, Angónia | -14.55, 34.233333 | 1800 | 1250 | 7/23 |
Tete | Metengo, Balama, Angónia | Metengo Balama | -14.848056, 34.526111 | 2000 | 1370 | 2/2 |
Tete | Nhaluiro [or Nhaluiro Velho, or Ribeira Nhaluiro] | Nhaluiro | -15.543889, 31.909722 | 3036 | 481 | 6/16 |
Tete | Vila Coutinho | Ulongué | -14.574444, 34.306111 | 3036 | 1295 | 3/3 |
Tete | Viola (Mazoe River Bridge), P.E.A. | Viola, Mazowe River Bridge | -16.53173, 33.428165 | 3036 | 173 | 1/1 |
Zambézia | 14 mls west of Morrumbala | 14 mls west of Morrumbala | -17.354788, 35.472782 | 1000 | 309 | 1/1 |
Zambézia | Mocuba | Mocuba | -16.845556, 36.964167 | 1439 | 148 | 1/1 |
Zambézia | Rio Licungo | Licungo river [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/1 |
Zambézia | Rio Luá (Ile) | Luá (Ile) river | -15.92, 37.119167 | 6000 | 415 | 1/2 |
Tchizine | Tchizine [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/1 | |
Tchizigine | Tchizigine [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 1/1 | |
Moçambique | Mozambique [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 15/30 | |
Presumably Mozambique | – | – | – | 2/2 |
The collection was primarily studied and published on by Sara Manaças resulting in four publications (
Globally, this is the largest collection of amphibians and reptiles from Mozambique with 1168 specimens, followed by those of the
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
The most comprehensive account of the herpetofauna of China was provided by
The collection comprises a total of 318 specimens (266 amphibians and 52 reptiles) that include nine species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles (Table
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
URODELA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Cryptobranchidae Fitzinger, 1826 | Andrias Tschudi, 1837 | Andrias sligoi (Boulenger, 1924) | Bought in a market [undetermined locality] – IICT/A A-B/1988 |
|
2 |
ANURA Duméril, 1806 | |||||
Bufonidae (Gray, 1825) | Duttaphrynus Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green & Wheeler, 2006 | Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider, 1799) | Cheoc Van – IICT/A 21-22/1989; Hac-Sá barracks road – IICT/A 81-88/1989, 154-161/1989; Old Military Road – IICT/A 89-100/1989; Hac-Sá – 12/1988, 31/1988, 19-20/1089, 37-43/1989, 153/1989, 165/1989, 183-195/1989; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/A 13/1989, 32/1989, 61-62/1989, 65-70/1989, 164/1989; Maritime Delegation road – IICT/A 1-6/1989; On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/A 128/1989; Coloane Alto Military Road – IICT/A 140-152/1989; Garden of Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa Municipal Park] – IICT/A 23-29/1989, 207-208/1989, 210-227/1989, 230-237/1989, 239-246/1989; Ka-Ho – IICT/A 31/1989; Macau [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 248-252/1989; Bought in a market [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 166-169/1989; Mong-Há Municipal Park – IICT/A 59-60/1989, 247/1989; Picnic Park – IICT/A 33-36/1989; Seac-Pai-Van – IICT/A 13/1988, 117-118/1989 |
|
151 |
Dicroglossidae Anderson, 1871 | Hoplobatrachus Peters, 1863 | Hoplobatrachus rugulosus (Wiegmann, 1834) | Bought in a local market [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 76-77/1989 | 2 | |
Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915 | Fejervarya limnocharis (Gravenhorst, 1829) | Hac-Sá barracks road – IICT/A 163/1989; Old Military Road – IICT/A 101-104/1989; On the road from Maritime Delegation to Cheoc Van – IICT/A 9/1989; On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/A 125-127/1989; Garden of Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa Municipal Park] – IICT/A 124/1989 |
|
10 | |
Microhylidae Günther, 1858 | Kaloula Gray, 1831 | Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831 | Old Military Road – IICT/A 111-116/1989; Hac-Sá – IICT/A 196-205/1989; On the road from Maritime Delegation to Cheoc Van – IICT/A 7-8/1989; On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/A 129-130/1989; Garden of Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa Municipal Park] – IICT/A 119-123/1989; Macau [undetermined locality] – IICT/A 253/1989; Mong-Há Municipal Park – IICT/A 78/1989 |
|
27 |
Microhyla Tschudi, 1838 | Microhyla pulchra (Hallowell, 1861) | Hac-Sá – IICT/A 206/1989 |
|
1 | |
Microhyla ornata (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | Old Military Road – IICT/A 105-110/1989; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/A 15-18/1989, 71-75/1989; On the road from Maritime Delegation to Cheoc Van – IICT/A 10/1989; Coloane Alto Military Road – IICT/A 139/1989; Seac-Pai-Van – IICT/A 14/1989 |
|
18 | ||
Microhyla sp. | On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/A 132-138/1989 | 7 | |||
Ranidae Batsch, 1796 | Sylvirana Dubois, 1992 | Sylvirana guentheri (Boulenger, 1882) | Garden of Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa Municipal Park] – IICT/A 30/1989 |
|
1 |
Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932 | Polypedates Tschudi, 1838 | Polypedates megacephalus Hallowell, 1861 | On the road from Maritime Delegation to Cheoc Van – IICT/A 11-12/1989; On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/A 131/1989; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/A 14/1989 |
|
4 |
Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932 | Polypedates Tschudi, 1838 | Polypedates megacephalus Hallowell, 1861 | Ka-Ho – IICT/A Macau1; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/A Macau2; Macau [undetermined locality] – IICI/A Macau3 | 43 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 266 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
CHELONIA Brongniart, 1800 | |||||
Geomydidae Theobald, 1868 | Mauremys Ritgen, 1828 | Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831) | Macau [undetermined locality] – IICT/R Macau1-2 | 3 | |
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Calotes Cuvier, 1816 | Calotes veriscolor (Daudin, 1802) | Hac-Sá – IICT/R 10-11/1988, 28/1988; Ka-Ho – IICT/R 23/1989; Mong-Há Inn – IICT/R 3-1988 | 5 | |
Leiolepis Cuvier, 1829 | Leiolepis reevesii (Gray, 1831) | Hac-Sá – IICT/R 13-14/1989, 16-17/1989 |
|
4 | |
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Gekko Laurenti, 1768 | Gekko chinensis (Gray, 1842) | Mong-Há Municipal Park – IICT/R 20-21/1989; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/R 7-9/1989 | 5 | |
Hemidactylus Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus bowringii (Gray, 1845) | Seac-Pai-Van – IICT/R 15-17/1988; Hac-Sá – IICT/R 18-19/1989 | 5 | ||
Hemidactylus brookii Gray, 1845 | Mong-Há Inn – IICT/R 4-5/1988; Coloane – IICT/R 8/1988 | 3 | |||
Hemidactylus garnotii Duméril & Bibron, 1836 | Seac-Pai-Van – IICT/R 21-22/1988 | 2 | |||
Hemidactylus sp. | Mong-Há Inn – IICT/R 22/1989; Coloane – IICT/R 29-30/1988 | 3 | |||
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Scincella Mittleman, 1950 | Scincella reevesii (Gray, 1838) | Mong-Há Inn – IICT/ 1-2-/1988; Hac-Sá Barracks Road – IICT/R 2/1989; former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation – IICT/R 3-4/1989 | 5 | |
SERPENTES | |||||
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Lycodon Boie, 1827 | Lycodon subcinctus Boie, 1827 | On the Military Road to Coloane village – IICT/R 12/1989 | 1 | |
Ptyas Fitzinger, 1843 | Ptyas korros (Schlegel, 1837) | Hac-Sá – IICT/R 6/1989, 15/1989; Bought in a local market – IICT/R 41/1988 | 3 | ||
Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus, 1758) | Hac-Sá – IICT/R 6/1988 | 1 | |||
Xenochrophis Günther, 1864 | Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider, 1799) | Maritime Delegation road – IICT/R 10-11/1989 | 2 | ||
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Bungarus Daudin, 1803 | Bungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1861 | Bought in a market [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 38/1988 | 1 | |
Ophiophagus Günther, 1864 | Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) | Bought in a market [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 39/1988 | 1 | ||
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Trimeresurus Lacepede, 1804 | Trimeresurus albolabris Gray, 1842 | Natural and Agrarian Museum, Seac-Pai-Van [or Museu Natural e Agrário, Seac-Pai-Van]– IICT/R 5/1989 | 1 | |
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Indotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 2014 | Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803) | Hac-Sá – IICT/R 1/1989, 19-20/1988; Seac-Pai-Van – IICT/ R 25/1988 | 5 | |
Bought in a market [undetermined locality] – IICT/R 24/1988, 40/1988 | 2 | ||||
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILE SPECIMENS | 52 |
Except for one specimen collected in 1984, all the specimens were collected in November 1988 and July 1989 during two expeditions organised and led by Jaime Augusto Travassos Dias (1920–1999;
Gazetteer of Macau localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
Island | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coloane | Chok Van | Cheoc Van | 22.113993, 113.560058 | 100 | 51 | 1/2 |
Coloane | Coloane | Coloane | 22.126318, 113.56423 | 400 | 63 | 3/5 |
Coloane | Estrada do Quartel de Hac-Sa [or Estrada do Quartel de Ac-Sa] | Hac-Sá Barracks road | 22.112826, 113.568982 | 108 | 40 | 3/18 |
Coloane | Estrada Militar Velha | Old military road | 22.122163, 113.554919 | 200 | 57 | 4/28 |
Coloane | Granja (Serviços Agrários da Câmara Municipal das Ilhas) | Natural and Agrarian Museum, Seac-Pai-Van [or Museu Natural e Agrário, Seac-Pai-Van] | 22.125826, 113.556575 | 62 | 8 | 1/1 |
Coloane | Hac-Sa [or Ac-Sa] | Hac-Sá | 22.121577, 113.569413 | 786 | 22 | 9/52 |
Coloane | Posto n°1 | former N°1 post of Maritime Delegation | 22.113377, 113.550274 | 60 | 9 | 5/26 |
Coloane | Estrada da Delegação [or Estrada da Delegação Marítima] | Maritime Delegation road | 22.113943, 113.550113 | 200 | 7 | 2/8 |
Coloane | Estrada da Delegação Marítima a Chok-Van | On the road from Maritime Delegation to Cheoc Van | 22.111574, 113.55314 | 300 | 52 | 4/6 |
Coloane | Estrada Militar a Coloane | On the Military road to Coloane village | 22.122987, 113.558851 | 496 | 92 | 6/15 |
Coloane | Estrada Militar do Alto de Coloane | Alto de Coloane, military road | 22.122987, 113.558851 | 496 | 92 | 2/14 |
Coloane | Ka-Ho | Ka-Ho | 22.133762, 113.576933 | 26 | 56 | 3/3 |
Coloane | Parque de Merendas | Picnic Park | 22.114778, 113.562985 | 60 | 85 | 1/4 |
Coloane | Siac-Pai-Van | Seac-Pai-Van | 22.129308, 113.562903 | 300 | 13 | 5/10 |
Macau | Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa (jardim)] | Garden of Montanha Russa [or Montanha Russa Municipal Park] | 22.204354, 113.552576 | 60 | 22 | 4/51 |
Macau | Mong-Há | Mong-Há Municipal Park | 22.20797, 113.548063 | 225 | 33 | 3/6 |
Macau | Pousada Mong-Há | Mong-Há Inn | 22.206509, 113.548921 | 40 | 28 | 4/6 |
– | Comprada num mercado em Macau [or Comprada em Macau, or Mercado] | Bought in a local market [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 6/9 |
– | Macau | Macau [undetermined locality] | – | – | – | 4/8 |
This collection was partly studied by
Even though specimens from mainland China are common in museum collections, specimens of amphibians and reptiles from Macau are scarce in western museum collections. IICT holds the largest known herpetological collection from that region, with 323 specimens, followed by the
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
The Indian herpetofauna is still poorly known and lacks an updated systematic account. Despite recent efforts to summarise the knowledge of Indian amphibians and reptiles in checklists and field guides (e.g.,
The collection comprises only 26 specimens (12 amphibians and 14 reptiles) belonging to three different species (Table
Overview of the former Portuguese India amphibian and reptile collections of IICT.
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
AMPHIBIANS | |||||
Dicroglossidae Anderson, 1871 | Hoplobatrachus Peters, 1863 | Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (Daudin, 1802) | Santa Cruz [or Calaphur] – IICT/A 15-21/1959; Taleigão – IICT/A 10-14/1959 | Manaças (1961) | 12 |
TOTAL NUMBER OF AMPHIBIAN SPECIMENS | 12 | ||||
REPTILES | |||||
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Calotes Cuvier, 1816 | Calotes veriscolor (Daudin, 1802) | Santa Cruz [or Calaphur] – IICT/R 1-9/1959; Pernem – IICT/R India1-4 | Manaças (1961) | 13 |
Scincidae Cuvier, 1808 | Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 | Lygosoma punctata (Gmelin, 1799) | Pernem – IICt/R India5 | 1 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILE SPECIMENS | 14 |
Geographically, this collection covers only three localities in the state of Goa: Santa Cruz (or Calaphur) with 16 records, Taleigão, and Pernem, with five records each (Table
Gazetteer of the former Portuguese India localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
State | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goa | Pernem | Pernem | 15.71674, 73.796996 | 1833 | 23 | 2/5 |
Goa | Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz [or Calaphur] | 15.470833, 73.843056 | 1833 | 12 | 2/16 |
Goa | Taleigão | Taleigão | 15.4675, 73.821389 | 1833 | 16 | 1/5 |
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
Despite a series of herpetological surveys that started in the beginning of the twenty-first century (
The material from East Timor constitutes the smallest herpetological sub-collection of the IICT, with only 17 reptile specimens. Despite its small size, this collection covers nine species of reptiles from eight different families (Table
Family | Genus | Species | Localities – Accession number | References | Number of specimens |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(* denotes a type specimen) | |||||
REPTILES | |||||
SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811 | |||||
Agamidae Gray, 1827 | Draco Linnaeus, 1758 | Draco timorensis Kuhl, 1820 | Dili – IICT/R 6-1956, Timor3 |
|
2 |
Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Gekko Laurenti, 1768 | Gekko gecko (Linnaeus, 1758) | Dili – IICT/R 4/1956, Timor6 |
|
2 |
Hemidactylus Gray, 1825 | Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836 | Dili – IICT/R 1-3/1956 |
|
3 | |
Varanidae Hardwicke & Gray, 1824 | Varanus Merrem, 1820 | Varanus timorensis (Gray, 1831) | Dili – IICT/R 7/1956 |
|
1 |
SERPENTES | |||||
Colubridae Oppel, 1811 | Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 | Dendrelaphis inornatus timorensis Smith, 1927 | Dili – IICT/R Timor2, Timor5 | 2 | |
Elapidae Boie, 1827 | Laticauda Laurenti, 1768 | Laticauda colubrina (Schneider, 1799) | Dili – IICT/R Timor4 | 1 | |
Viperidae Oppel, 1811 | Trimeresurus Lacepede, 1804 | Trimeresurus insularis Kramer, 1977 | Dili – IICT/R 8/1956 |
|
1 |
Cylindrophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 | Cylindrophis Wagler, 1828 | Cylindrophis boulengeri Roux, 1911 | Dili – IICT/R 9-10/1956, Timor1, Timor8 | 4 | |
Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 | Indotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 2014 | Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803) | Dili – IICT/R Timor7 | 1 | |
TOTAL NUMBER OF REPTILE SPECIMENS | 17 |
Geographically, all specimens were collected in Dili (Table
Gazetteer of East Timor localities of IICT specimens. Latitude and longitude decimal coordinates are presented in WGS-84 projection.
State | Verbatim locality | Current locality | Latitude and Longitude | Uncertainty (meters) | Elevation (meters) | Number of taxa/records |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dili | Dili | Dili | -8.558611, 125.573611 | 6710 | 3 | 8/14 |
Herpetological specimens from East Timor are rare in museum collections, with recent surveys contributing relevant collections for
The dataset of this collection is available at GBIF (
As part of an institution aimed at the scientific study of the Portuguese colonial territories, the
Besides its overall diversity and extensive geographic distribution (297 species from 258 unique localities in eight countries), the collections house a considerable amount of type material. This type material belongs to nine different taxa, mainly from São Tomé & Príncipe (18 types), Angola (25 types), and Mozambique (three types).
As demonstrated by the role of the IICT specimens in the description of new species (
Currently, the collection is fully catalogued and accessible. It is regularly consulted by international researchers, Portuguese and foreign students for their Master and PhD theses, and used in conservation assessments (
Natural history collections are an irreplaceable resource for the study of past and present biodiversity and its future conservation, as well as an invaluable resource for teaching and training students (
Despite their scientific importance and potential use for research, biodiversity conservation, and teaching, natural history collections currently face serious challenges (
Altogether, the Portuguese natural history collections house more than 3,500,000 specimens. Although this number may seem small when compared to other major natural history collections in Europe, the Portuguese natural history collections are rich in specimens from biodiversity hotspots, such as the Mediterranean region and the tropical regions spanned by their former colonial possessions and range from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day. As recently noted by
Despite its national and international importance, the staff allocated to the curation, preservation, and study of this collection is limited. None of the three main museums,
The major Portuguese natural history collections are currently part of larger interdisciplinary university museums, which were recently created through the merging of former more discipline-oriented museums. The University of Lisbon manages
There are various reasons why these disciplinarily distinct collections were merged within the university museums structure, although one of the major drivers was the economic and management burden caused by having several independent museums within the universities. There are both advantages and disadvantages to such mergers, which have raised several challenges at the methodological, management, and even epistemological levels. Curating a biological collection is radically different from curating a collection of historical scientific instruments and developing a functional database that serves both the interests and needs of curators of almost opposite typologies of collections is challenging.
Being a university museum is, a priori, a very interesting opportunity in favour of natural history collections, as this institutional relation can foster important research collaborations and teaching partnerships between the museum and the rest of the academic community, from professors and researchers to graduate and undergraduate students (
This association is pernicious and has consequences for the relationship between the museum and its academic community. Firstly, it has led to a physical and emotional separation of professors, researchers, and students from the museum. This has resulted in several immediate problems, such as the abandonment of systematic and taxonomic studies associated with the collections, fostering the already worrisome distance between taxonomists and the rest of the academic community and the well-known negative consequences that this has for biodiversity studies as a whole (
Divorced from its research and teaching objectives, the collection staff is usually reduced to a minimum, which has immediate consequences for the curation and maintenance of its collections, including cataloguing and digitising, leading to drastic limitations on accessibility. This lack of accessibility contributes to a taxonomic impediment (
Natural history collections in Portuguese universities risk being considered simply as the historical heritage of the universities, becoming displays of past glories, mostly used in commemorative and outreach programs. This historical nature also causes some practical challenges in terms of their use in exhibitions other than those more focused on history. As many of these collections were assembled for research purposes from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, their aesthetic and pedagogic value for exhibitions is limited. The concerns raised by the natural history collections being considered as historical heritage also causes problems regarding the accessibility and use of collections. As the first author personally experienced, researchers are sometimes blocked from the study of fluid preserved specimens simply because this would mean that the jar containing those specimens would have to be opened and that would destroy its historical sealant.
Recently, Portuguese natural history collections have been included in important international initiatives aimed at promoting their use, such as DiSSCo, a pan-European Research Infrastructure (
Interestingly, the problems surrounding the Portuguese natural history museums are not new but are a recurrent situation. In 1865, the Portuguese herpetologist José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (1823–1907), then director of the Zoological Section of the National Museum of Lisbon (precursor of current day
"In the current conditions, with the present organisation, the Lisbon museum not only is unable to develop and prosper but will shortly precipitate into a fast and lethal decadence. There is no staff to study part of its collections, there is no staff dealing with its conservation, there is no staff to prepare a portion of its specimens, there are no resources that can be used to enrich its collections. What more can I do besides ask for immediate help? There may be people amongst us that consider this establishment useless, and this may even be the most predominant feeling in the country; but in this case, logic demands that it cannot remain in its current conditions, but rather needs to be closed. To have or to not have a zoological museum is the first thing that needs to be decided, but if we decide to have one, the triumph of the status quo can’t be the corollary of the needed actions."
After decades of being in limbo, world natural history collections are currently in a state of flux. Several major international initiatives, such as iDigBio (www.idigbio.org) in the USA and DiSSCo (http://www.dissco.eu) in Europe, are driving an important and almost revolutionary change on how society sees, uses, and values these resources. This revolution aims to foster the use of natural history collections data through digitisation and global accessibility (
Yet not all collections present the minimum standards for joining the ongoing revolution, especially abandoned collections. Due to lack of proper curation, lack of accessibility, inconsistent internal organisation, and poor conservation, these abandoned collections risk being left aside, simply because in their current state they are almost unusable. This is not only a problem for the collections but a loss of critical scientific data. Unfortunately, this situation is not exclusive to the IICT collections; several collections around the world are in a similar or worse state.
Based on our experience with the recovery of the IICT herpetological collection, we have developed a simplified workflow of ten steps (Fig.
The authors thank Luis Mendes, António Bívar de Sousa, and Margarida Pinheiro for granting access to the Centro de Zoologia in the early stages of this work, and for sharing important information regarding the collection. Vitor Gens and Branca Moriés provided important bibliographical and archival data. Leonor Brites Soares, Daniel Mameri, Madalena Marques, Eduardo Marques, and Catarina Mouta helped during the transfer of the collections to