Species:

Congolacerta vauereselli  (TORNIER, 1902)

Synonyms:

Lacerta vauereselli   TORNIER, 1902

Adolfus vauereselli  ARNOLD, 1973

Common names:

Sparse-scaled forest lizard (English)
Afrikanische Bergeidechse (German)

Types:

Holotype: ZMB 17700

Terra Typica:

Kagera, west of Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Tornier, G. (1902) -  Herpetologisch Neues aus Ost-Afrika. -  Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipzig, 25: 700-704.  

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• Greenbaum, E. & Villanueva, C.O. & Kusamba, C. & Aristote, M.M. & Branch, W.R. (2011) -  A molecular phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the description of a new genus and species from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. -  Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163 (3): 913-942.    

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  Currently, four species of the lacertid lizard genus Adolfus are known from Central and East Africa. We sequenced up to 2825 bp of two mitochondrial [16S and cytochrome b (cyt b)] and two nuclear [(c-mos (oocyte maturation factor) and RAG1 (recombination activating gene 1)] genes from 41 samples of Adolfus (representing every species), two species each of Gastropholis and Holaspis, and in separate analyses combined these data with GenBank sequences of all other Eremiadini genera and four Lacertini outgroups. Data from DNA sequences were analysed with maximum parsimony (PAUP), maximum-likelihood (RAxML) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes) criteria. Results demonstrated that Adolfus is not monophyletic: Adolfus africanus (type species), Adolfus alleni, and Adolfus jacksoni are sister taxa, whereas Adolfus vauereselli and a new species from the Itombwe Plateau of Democratic Republic of the Congo are in a separate lineage. Holaspis and Gastropholis were recovered in separate clades. Based on these molecular data, relatively substantial sequence divergence, and multiple morphological differences, we describe a new genus of lacertid for the lineage including A. vauereselli and the new Itombwe species. The recognition of this new, endemic genus underscores the conservation importance of the Albertine Rift, especially the Itombwe Plateau, a unique region that is severely threatened by unchecked deforestation, mining, and poaching.