Species:

Heliobolus spekii  (GÜNTHER, 1872)

Subspecies (3):

Heliobolus spekii spekii  (GÜNTHER, 1872)

Heliobolus spekii scorteccii  (ARILLO, BALLETTO & SPANO, 1965)

Heliobolus spekii sextaeniata  (STEJNEGER, 1893)

Synonyms:

Eremias spekii  GÜNTHER, 1872

Eremias rugiceps  PETERS, 1878

Heliobolus spekii  BROADLEY & HOWELL, 1991

Common names:

Speke’s sand lizard (English)
Speke’s Sonnenrenner (German)

Types:

spekii: Syntypes: BMNH 1946.8.6.8-9

sextaeniata: Holotype: USNM 20080

Terra Typica:

spekii: `in 5° 7` S, between the coast and Unyamuezi` [Unyamwezi was in the 19th century, the name of the settlement area of ​​Nyamwezi, a large area between the rift valleys in the area Tabora-Singida-Shinyanga-Katavi. `between the coast and Unyamuezi` is therefore called `somewhere in northern Tanzania`].

scortecci: Gardo [= Qardho in NE Somalia].

sextaeniata: Tana river, Kenya.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Günther, A. (1872) -  Description of three new species of Eremias. -  The Annals and magazine of natural history, (4) 9: 381-382.  

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• Largen, M.J. & Spawls, S. (2006) -  Lizards of Ethiopia (Reptilia Sauria):an annotated checklist, bibliography,gazetteer and identification key. -  Tropical Zoology, 19 (1): 21-109.    

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  This review lists Agama smithii Boulenger 1896 as a synonym of Agama agama (Linnaeus 1758), Agama trachypleura Peters 1982 as a synonym of Acanthocercus phillipsii (Boulenger 1895) and describes for the first time Acanthocercus guentherpetersi n. sp. Without more convincing evidence, Chamaeleon ruspolii Boettger 1893 cannot be accepted as specifically distinct from Chamaeleo dilepis Leach 1819, nor Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme 1985 from C. africanus Laurenti 1768. Consequently, 101 species of lizard are currently recognised in Ethiopia, of which some 40% appear to be denizens of the Somali-arid zone. This significant proportion is attributable in part to the importance of the Horn of Africa as a centre for reptilian diversification and endemicity, in part to the fact that this lowland fauna was rather extensively sampled during the 1930s, but also to the conspicuous neglect of lizards in other regions of the country. Mountain and forested habitats are widespread in Ethiopia, so it seems extraordinary to record only five saurian species which are believed to be endemic in such environments. The inference that there are many more still to be discovered has important implications for conservation, because montane forest is known to be among the most threatened of Ethiopian biomes and there is clearly an urgent need for its herpetofauna to be more thoroughly researched and documented.