The Lualaba worm lizard (''Monopeltis adercae'') 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), ...
of
amphisbaenia
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of typically legless lizards, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. A ...
n 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 ...
Amphisbaenidae
The Amphisbaenidae (common name: worm lizards) are a Family (biology), family of amphisbaenians, a group of limbless vertebrates. There are 12 genera, containing 183 species.
Geographic range
Amphisbaenids occur in South America, some Caribbean ...
. The species 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 ...
to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''adercae'', is in honor of
Bernard Max Aderca, who was a Belgian geologist and paleontologist.
Geographic range
''M. adercae'' is found in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the vicinity of
Mulongo. The
holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
was collected at an elevation of .
[
]
Description
The holotype of ''M. adercae'' has a total length of , which includes a tail long. The diameter of the body is .de Witte
''De Witte'' or ''Dewitte'' is Dutch language, Dutch and Flemish language, Flemish for "The White" and may refer to:
* The noble family "de Witte" (from Antwerpen)
Surname
* André de Witte (1944–2021), Belgian bishop in Brazil
* Bruno de Witte ...
(1953).
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''M. adercae'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* De Witte G-F (1953). "''Exploration du Parc National de l'Upemba. Mission G. F. de Witte en collaboration avec W. Adams, A. Janssens, L. van Meel et R. Verheyen (1946–1949). Reptiles'' ". ''Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge'' (Brussels) 6: 1–322. ("''Monopeltis adercæ''", new species, pp. 82–83, Figures 16A–16D). (in French).
* Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' (289): 1–130. (''Monopeltis adercae'', p. 34).
Monopeltis
Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Reptiles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Reptiles described in 1953
Taxa named by Gaston-François de Witte
{{Amphisbaenidae-stub