Congolacerta vauereselli

Congolacerta vauereselli
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertoidea
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Congolacerta
Species:	C. vauereselli
Binomial name
Congolacerta vauereselli (Tornier, 1902)
Synonyms
Lacerta vauereselli Tornier, 1902 Lacerta (Zootoca) vauereselli — de Witte & Laurent, 1942 Adolfus vauereselli — Arnold, 1973 Congolacerta vauereselli — Greenbaum et al., 2011

Congolacerta vauereselli, also known commonly as the sparse-scaled forest lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to central Africa.

Etymology

Tornier (1902) did not explain the source of the specific name vauereselli. According to Klaver (2022), following Mertens (1949) and Bischoff (2001), the name may be a German wordplay on the letters "vau," "er," "es," and "el," possibly representing the taxonomic ranks Vertebrata, Reptilia, Sauria, and Lacertidae, though this remains speculative. ^[2] The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles (Beolens, Watkins, and Grayson 2011) lists the species but does not identify the namesake, indicating uncertainty. ^[3]

Geographic range

C. vauereselli is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. ^[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural Habitat of C. vauereselli is forest, at altitudes of 1,000–2,400 m (3,300–7,900 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

• C. vauereselli is oviparous. ^[4]

References

1. Wagner, P.; Spawls, S. (2021). "Congolacerta vauereselli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T178426A46107660. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T178426A46107660.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Klaver, C.J.J. (2022). [Title]. [Journal/Book details if available].
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
4. Species Congolacerta vauereselli at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

• Greenbaum E, Villanueva CO, Kusamba C, Aristote MM, Branch WR (2011). "A molecular phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the description of a new genus and species from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society163: 913–942. (Congolacerta vauereselli, new combination, p. 927).
• Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN   978-1472935618.
• Tornier G (1902). "Herpetologisch Neues aus Ost-Afrika". Zoologischer Anzeiger25: 700–704. (Lacerta vauereselli, new species, pp. 701–703). (in German).