Species:

Nucras scalaris  LAURENT, 1964

Common names:

Scaled Sandveld Lizard (English)

Types:

So far only known from the type series of four specimens, three females (Holotype no. 5401, Paratypes 5481 and 5485) and one male (Paratype no. 5346) collected in June/ July 1954 from the type locality Alto Chicapa, and from Alto Cuílo, both in Lunda Sul Province of north-eastern Angola. The type specimens are in the collection at the Museu Regional do Dundo, Angola, except for paratype no. 5485, which is deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard (accession no. MCZ Herp R74121).

The new Paratype (female NB1110) from Cusseque, Province of Bié, is deposited in the herpetological collection of the Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla (ISCED-Huíla), Lubango, Angola.

Terra Typica:

Alto Chicapa, Lunda, Angola.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Laurent, R.F. (1964) -  Description of Nucras scalaris. -  In: Reptiles et batraciens de l`Angola (troisième note). Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola), No. 67, 165 pp.   

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• Baptista, N.L. & Tolley, K.A. & Bluhm, M. & Finckh, M. & Branch, W.R. (2020) -  Rediscovery, range extension, habitat and phylogenetic relation of the endemic Scaled Sandveld Lizard Nucras scalaris Laurent, 1964 (Sauria: Lacertidae) in the central Angolan plateau -  African Journal of Herpetology    

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  The Scaled Sandveld Lizard Nucras scalaris Laurent, 1964 is a poorly known lacertid endemic to north-eastern Angola and is only known from the type series collected more than half a century ago. The original description provided a comprehensive morphological description, but there was a lack of information regarding its evolutionary relationships and habitat associations. A recent discovery of N. scalaris from Cusseque, Bié Province, on the central Angolan plateau provided the opportunity to address some knowledge gaps of this species. A phylogenetic analysis confirmed its distinctiveness at the species level. Despite a limited dataset, the analysis suggests that N. scalaris is sister to N. broadleyi rather than N. lalandii, the latter having been assumed to be the sister species, because of morphological similarity between them. The new record of N. scalaris represents a range extension of more than 350 km to the southwest and extends the elevation range to 1570 m above sea level, compared to previous known localities at about 1 300 m above sea level (Alto Cuílo and Alto Chicapa, in Lunda Sul Province). The specimen also provides new information on live coloration, as well as the habitat association of grassy shrubland that is dominated by geoxylic suffrutices (the so-called ‘underground forests’) characteristic of the Angolan Miombo Woodlands. This new information raises the question whether poor survey data have led to an under-estimation of faunal diversity in this peculiar and overlooked vegetation type, and reinforces the need for further surveys which could highlight the importance of this habitat.