''Ichnotropis microlepidota'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lacertidae The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found ...

. It is commonly called Marx's rough-scaled lizard and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. ''I. microlepidota'' is a terrestrial lizard and was first discovered at the foot of

Mount Moco Mount Moco (Portuguese: ), at , is the highest mountain in Angola. It is located in Huambo Province Huambo is a Provinces of Angola, province of Angola. With an area of 34,270 km2, it is one of the geographically smaller provinces, situated ...

Description

''I. microlepidota'' is a medium-sized lizard with a slender body, long tail, and well developed legs. Most of the specimens found are less than long in snout–to-vent length (SVL) and share the common characteristics of the genus ''

Ichnotropis ''Ichnotropis'' is a genus of African lizards in the family Lacertidae. Species in the genus ''Ichnotropis'' are commonly called rough-scaled lizards."''Ichnotropis'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Species The following six s ...

'': Branch, Bill (1998). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. . (Genus ''Ichnotropis'', pp. 160–162). *Cylindrical tail without

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may also refer to: Biology and healthcare * Lateral (anatomy), a term of location meaning "towards the side" * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, an intrinsic muscle of the larynx * Lateral release ( ...

fringe *Toes without

serrated Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied pr ...

or fringed edge *Smooth or tubular

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

under toes * Subocular scales bordering lip *No collar present * Keeled or overlapping dorsal scales *Head shields smooth or slightly rough ''I. microlepidota'' is similar to ''

Ichnotropis bivittata ''Ichnotropis'' is a genus of African lizards in the family Lacertidae. Species in the genus ''Ichnotropis'' are commonly called rough-scaled lizards."''Ichnotropis'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Species The following six s ...

'' except ''I. microlepidota'' has a wider body.

Biology

''I. microlepidota'' is

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

and feeds on termites and other small insects. It is an active hunter during the day.

Taxonomy and evolution

Based on morphological evidence, the South African genus ''Ichnotropis'' and the North American genus ''

Psammodromus ''Psammodromus'' is a small genus of sand lizards of the family ''Lacertidae''. It has six described species, which are found in European and North African countries next to the Mediterranean. Species The following species are recognized as bei ...

'' diverged from the lineage of '' Lacerta lepida'' and ''Lacerta monticola'' during the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

epoch (24 to 36 million years ago).Busack, Stephen; Maxson, Linda (1986). "Molecular relationships among Iberian, Moroccan, and South African lacertid lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 8: 383-392.

Predators

''I. microlepidota'' has been recorded as prey of ''

Melierax metabates The dark chanting goshawk (''Melierax metabates'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Arabia, with an isolated and declining population in southern Morocco. Description The ...

'', the chanting goshawk, a bird of prey

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

to Africa. Marx H (1956). "A new lacertid lizard from Angola". ''Fieldiana: Zoology'' 39: 5–9. (''Ichnotropis microlepidota'', new species).

References

{{Authority control Ichnotropis Lacertid lizards of Africa Reptiles of Angola Endemic fauna of Angola Reptiles described in 1956 Taxa named by Hymen Marx