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Africa, a continent of 1.3 billion people, had 326 researchers per one million people in 2018 (Schneegans, 2021; UNESCO, 2022), despite the global average for the number of researchers per million people being 1368 (Schneegans, 2021; UNESCO, 2022). Nevertheless, a strong research community is a requirement to advance scientific knowledge and innovation and drive economic growth (Agnew, et al., 2020; Sianes, et al., 2022). This low number of researchers extends to scientific research across Africa and finds resonance with genomic projects such as the African BioGenome Project (Ebenezer, et al., 2022).The African BioGenome project (AfricaBP) plans to sequence 100,000 endemic African species in 10 years (Ebenezer, et al., 2022) with an estimated 203,000 gigabases of DNA sequence. AfricaBP aims to generate these genomes on-the-ground in Africa. However, for AfricaBP to achieve its goals of on-the-ground sequencing and data analysis, there is a need to empower African scientists and institutions to obtain the required skill sets, capacity and infrastructure to generate, analyse, and utilise these sequenced genomes in-country.The Open Institute is the genomics and bioinformatics knowledge exchange programme for the AfricaBP (Figures 1 & 2). It consists of 10 participating institutions including the University of South Africa in South Africa and National Institute of Agricultural Research in Morocco. It aims to: develop biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics curricula targeted at African scientists, promote and develop genomics and bioinformatics tools that will address critical needs relevant to the African terrain such as limited internet access, and advance grassroot knowledge exchange through outreach and public engagement such as quarterly training and workshops.

Angola has experienced an incredible increase of the knowledge of its herpetofauna over the past decade. However, accurate biodiversity inventories remain deficient for certain regions of particular conservation interest. We therefore provide an updated checklist of Iona National Park’s herpetofauna, with 75 recorded species, including five amphibians and 70 reptiles, 40 of these recorded for the first time in Iona National Park. These species comprise ~80% of the reptile diversity of Namibe Province. Therefore, this work recognises Iona National Park as the most reptile-diverse protected area in Angola and is potentially one of the richest in southern Africa. Consequently, this work enhances the importance of specific conservation plans in the area and the need for further investigation into the hidden biodiversity of this region.

Tropical Africa is home to an astonishing biodiversity occurring in a variety of ecosystems. Past climatic change and geological events have impacted the evolution and diversification of this biodiversity. During the last two decades, around 90 dated molecular phylogenies of different clades across animals and plants have been published leading to an increased understanding of the diversification and speciation processes generating tropical African biodiversity. In parallel, extended geological and palaeoclimatic records together with detailed numerical simulations have refined our understanding of past geological and climatic changes in Africa. To date, these important advances have not been reviewed within a common framework. Here, we critically review and synthesize African climate, tectonics and terrestrial biodiversity evolution throughout the Cenozoic to the mid-Pleistocene, drawing on recent advances in Earth and life sciences. We first review six major geo-climatic periods defining tropical African biodiversity diversification by synthesizing 89 dated molecular phylogeny studies. Two major geo-climatic factors impacting the diversification of the sub-Saharan biota are highlighted. First, Africa underwent numerous climatic fluctuations at ancient and more recent timescales, with tectonic, greenhouse gas, and orbital forcing stimulating diversification. Second, increased aridification since the Late Eocene led to important extinction events, but also provided unique diversification opportunities shaping the current tropical African biodiversity landscape. We then review diversification studies of tropical terrestrial animal and plant clades and discuss three major models of speciation: (i) geographic speciation via vicariance (allopatry); (ii) ecological speciation impacted by climate and geological changes, and (iii) genomic speciation via genome duplication. Geographic speciation has been the most widely documented to date and is a common speciation model across tropical Africa. We conclude with four important challenges faced by tropical African biodiversity research: (i) to increase knowledge by gathering basic and fundamental biodiversity information; (ii) to improve modelling of African geophysical evolution throughout the Cenozoic via better constraints and downscaling approaches; (iii) to increase the precision of phylogenetic reconstruction and molecular dating of tropical African clades by using next generation sequencing approaches together with better fossil calibrations; (iv) finally, as done here, to integrate data better from Earth and life sciences by focusing on the interdisciplinary study of the evolution of tropical African biodiversity in a wider geodiversity context., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The Angolan Adder, Bitis heraldica (Bocage, 1889), is endemic to the Angolan central plateau and is one of the most poorly known and rarely observed species of African snakes. The phylogenetic placement of B. heraldica within the four subgenera of the genus Bitis (Bitis, Macrocerastes, Calechidna, Keniabitis) has been problematic. The few recent taxonomic and phylogenetic revisions dealing with African viperids and the genus Bitis have not included this species, resulting in the default acceptance of B. heraldica as member of the subgenus Calechidna, based on similar morphology and size. During a survey in Huambo Province, central Angola, we collected the first specimen of this species in the past 65 years, allowing us to examine its phylogenetic relationships to other Bitis using multigene Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of all species of Bitis, except B. harenna. Contrary to expectations that B. heraldica is a member of the subgenus Calechidna, our results unambiguously place B. heraldica among members of the subgenus Macrocerastes, which contains the largest-bodied species of the genus. The placement of B. heraldica within Macrocerastes raises interesting questions about body-size evolution in viperids and contributes to a better understanding of biogeographic patterns in south-western Africa, and particularly Angola.

Nucras broadleyi sp. nov. Angolan Sandveld Lizard urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C82E3A75-96FF-4D2A-9B52-3ABF4B58BC2B (Figures 4–6) Chersonymy. Nucras tessellata var. taeniolata (Bocage 1895: 30), Nucras tessellata var. taeniolata (Boulenger 1910: 474), Nucras tessellata var. holubi (Boulenger 1917: 210), Nucras intertexta var. holubi (Boulenger 1920: 20), Nucras tessellata (Monard 1937: 73; Laurent 1964: 56), Nucras ornata (Broadley 1965: 23), Nucras tessellata (Broadley 1972: 30; Ceríaco et al. 2016: 56; Burger 2014: 171), Nucras aff. tessellata (Marques et al. 2018: 221; Branch et al. 2019: 317). Type material. The type series is comprised of the three most recently collected specimens, which are housed in PEM and TM. Holotype. A subadult male (PEM R 24005, AG 018), 10 km west of Lola, edge of Bentiaba River valley, Namibe Province, Angola (-14.29028, 13.53056, WGS 84, 802 m asl). Collected by W. R. Branch, P. Vaz Pinto, and J.S. de Almeida on 2 November 2015. Paratypes (2). a) A subadult female (PEM R 24157, AG 166), 8.8 km southwest of Farm Mucungo, Namibe Province, Angola (-14.80167, 12.41917, WGS 84, 385 m asl). Collected by W. R. Branch, P. Vaz Pinto, and J. S. de Almeida on 8 November 2015. b) An unsexed adult (TM 40392), “ 34 km S of Moçâmedes to Porto Alexandre, Angola, 1512 Ca ” (= 34 km S Namibe to Tômbwa), Namibe Province, Angola (approx. -15.48220, 12.18289). Collected by W.D. Haacke on 30 March 1971. Additional referred material: The following additional material was used to expand the description of variation within the species: a) an adult male (MD 1967, Laurent 1964), “km 34 de la route de Moçâmedes à Sa da Bandeira” (= 34 km from Namibe on Lubango road, -15.03333, 12.41667), collected 24 October 1949, b) MBL 646, 647 a, 647b (Bocage 1895: 30) from Maconjo (approx. -15.01667, 13.20000), c) BM 1970.6.29.10–11 (Boulenger 1910: 474) from Ponang Kuma (= Donguena, approx. -17.01667, 14.71667), and d) MHNC 91.0524 (Monard 1937) from Capelongo (approx. -14.88333, 15.083333), collected April 1933. Etymology. The specific epithet is a patronym in honor of Donald G. Broadley for his numerous contributions to the herpetofauna of Africa. Don (as most of us knew him) was the first to recognize the Angolan population as a separate species (Broadley 1972). The name is constructed in the masculine genitive. Diagnosis. Assigned to Nucras due to a well-defined collar (absent in Ichnotropis), toes not serrated or fringed (versus serrated or fringed in Meroles), subdigital lamellae smooth (versus keeled in Pedioplanis and Heliobolus), subocular bordering lip, the nostril is pierced between two nasals, nasal well separated from upper labial, and dorsal scales small, smooth, and juxtaposed. * anterior subocular (posterior subocular), ** total (largest number, t = truncated) The new species can be diagnosed from other Nucras species based on a combination of the following characters: series of transversely enlarged plates present under forearm (versus absent or only feebly enlarged in Nucras lalandii), a small series (0–6) of small granules present between supraciliaries and supraoculars (versus mostly absent in N. boulengeri and N. lalandii), 23–29 lamellae under 4 th toe (versus less than 22 in N. lalandii), dorsum with a series of longitudinal pale stripes (versus dark cross bands present in N. lalandii and N. scalaris or a series of pale vertebral spots, sometimes forming irregular transverse bands in N. intertexta or lack of any dorsal patterns in N. aurantiaca), four pale stripes on nape with outer stripes forming a. Bloemfontein Museum Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province National Cape Cape Cape Cape Cape Cape Cape NMB – , , Northern Western, Northern,, Northern Northern, Western,, Western Kamanjab, KwaZulu-Natal Cape , Western Museum Locality South Africa Africa South South Africa South Africa South Africa GenBank Africa South South Africa Namibia, South Africa Africa South Elizabeth Port – 1 005257 951543 951540 951542 951541 632229 871208 547691 871206 871207 547718 RAG PEM HG HF HF HF HF EF DQ HF DQ DQ HF, Science 4 005232 951535 951536 751398 547725 547732 547733 547759 of ND HG — HF — HF — FR HF HF HF HF Academy 005211 951559 951556 951558 951557 080358 871152 547772 871148 871149 547800 California S 16 HG HF HF HF HF AF DQ HF DQ DQ HF CAS – : number 206725 R 18745 R 16873 R 11574 R 16872 209602 R 18376 abbreviations Museum accession CAS PEM PEM NMB PEM NA NA NMNW CAS PEM Museum. accession 5584 08 069 - 20650 21061 20687 0531 08 6001 6067 049 analysis Field ID AMB KTH MB MB MB MH GW AMB AMB SVN genetic in Samples used Species tessellata tessellata tessellata tessellata tessellata longicaudata australis australis capensis capensis suborbitalis. ) continued 2 Table (Genus Nucras Nucras Nucras Nucras Nucras Outgroup Latastia Australolacerta Australolacerta Ichnotropis Ichnotropis Meroles continuous light stripe with the outer edges of the parietals (similar to Broadley’s (1972) N. tessellata tessellata var. “ T;” differs from N. livida and N. tessellata where the outer stripes often do not form a continuous light stripe with the outer edges of the parietals; differs from N. caeiscaudata and N. ornata where there are only three longitudinal stripes present on nape and sometimes the vertebral ones are absent), well defined occipital scale separating parietals (versus reduced or absent in northern Namibia N. holubi, which is referred to as N. intertexta damarana Parker; as well as absent in N. caesicaudata), parietal foramen absent (often present in all other species except N. taeniolata), and postnasals separated (usually fused in N. taeniolata). In the phylogenetic analysis, the uncorrected p -distances show that this clade differs by>8% for 16S,>14% for ND4, and>1% for RAG 1 sequence divergence from other members of the N. tessellata clade. Description of Holotype (Fig. 4). Body relatively slender (SVL approx. 4.5 times the head length, tail truncated), with hindlimbs larger than forelimbs (femur of hind limb equal to length of tibia); head narrow and elongated (56% longer than wide) with narrow pointed but blunt snout, that is slightly longer than distance from back of eye to rear of ear opening. Rostrum protruding and visible from below. Nasals paired and in contact (0.2 mm suture length), not swollen, nostril directed backwards separating postnasals. Frontonasal single, wider than long (1.1 × 1.8 mm). Prefrontals paired and in broad median contact with one another (0.6 mm suture length), wider than long (1.1 × 1.2 mm). Frontal entire, longer than wide (2.7 × 1.9 mm). Two large rounded supraoculars, both in contact with the frontal, with anterior supraocular preceded by a single large scale in contact with prefrontal, frontonasal, and posterior loreal, with posterior supraocular bordered by a single large scale in contact with parietal and frontoparietal. Paired frontoparietal in broad contact (1.3 mm suture length), nearly as wide as long (1.7 × 1.5 mm). Parietals twice as long as wide (3.1 × 1.8 mm), fully separate by a large, pentagonal interparietal (2.5 × 1.2 mm) that is twice as long as wide, slightly shorter than frontoparietals and nearly equal to length of frontonasal and prefrontal combined. Small subtriangular occipital (0.5 × 0.7 mm). Two loreals, second much larger than first. Six supraciliaries on each side, 1 st is the longest. A single minute granule scale between supraocular and supracilliares on right side, none on left side. Four supralabials anterior to subocular and three supralabials posterior to subocular, on both sides. Subocular slightly elevated medial and bordering the lip, its lower border being shorter than the upper. Three temporal scales, first longer than others, smooth. Tympanic shield as wide as long, border of ear opening. No ear lobes. Lower eyelid with transparent brille formed by five larger scales, surrounded by numerous smaller scales. Lower eyelid separated from subocular and enlarged temporal scales by a series of 10 smaller scales. Small scale above 3 rd supralabial separating the posterior loreal and subocular. Enlarged scale bordering 1 st post subocular, supralabial, and the subocular. Six infralabials on both sides, with 3 rd being longest; four enlarged pairs of chin shields, last largest and first three in broad contact. Twenty-four gular scales in a straight line between symphysis of chin shields and median collar plate, equal in size except last 4–5 larger. Collar free, comprising seven enlarged plates (median subtriangular) and extending slightly onto side of neck as a crease, bordered by 2–3 smaller scales. Dorsal scales small, juxtaposed, granular, smooth, larger on sides toward ventrals. Midbody scales 42. Ventral plates eight longitudinal and 28 transverse rows (from collar to groin), plates of the innermost rows longer than broad, with outer row notably smaller than other rows, transverse row of ventrals across chest just behind collar longer than broad; preanal scales irregular, median ones larger. Scales on upper surface of forearm large, smooth or slightly keeled. Scales on lower surface of forearm with eight enlarged plates, at least twice the width of scales on upper forearm. Scales on upper surface of tibia rhombic, subimbricate, smooth, and much larger than dorsal scales. Tibia below with a series of large plates. Subdigital lamellae under fourth toe 23 R / 25L. Femoral pores 13 R / 15L. Dorsal scales on tail oblique, strongly keeled diagonally, and truncate behind, ventral scales on tail obtusely keeled. Coloration. Dorsum with eight pale cream to white dorsolateral longitudinal stripes, separated by dark brown to black stripes. These stripes are more boldly patterned anteriorly, fading posteriorly. No light vertebral stripe. The two pale paravertebral stripes are separated by a very narrow strip of darker scales that starts on the interparietal through the occipital scale and fades posteriorly onto body and tail. The dorsolateral stripe extending along outer borders of parietals continues onto the tail. It is followed by the upper lateral stripe extending from posterior of the eye onto the head through the mid-temporal with a brief break above the ear opening, and continues onto the tail. The lower lateral stripe starts at the subocular, through the ear opening, broken briefly above the arm, after which it continues all the way onto the tail. Ventrum white and lower limbs oblique white. Fore limbs upper surface black with scattered pale blotches. Hind limbs light brown with pale blotches. Upper surface of tail red-brown, similar to hind limbs. Scales bordering the orbit are black edged. Variation (Figs. 5–6). Meristic and escalation data are summarized in Table 1. The largest specimen examined is (BM 1907.6.29.10) 74 + 144 mm (tail regenerated). Regarding coloration, there seem to be three main variations among material examined: 1) 8–9 longitudinal stripes as in holotype (in PEM R 24005, MBL 647a, 647b, MHNC 91.0524–5), 2) 4–5 pale longitudinal stripes broken up posteriorly with flanks spotted (in BM 1970.6.29.10–11, TM 40392, MD 1967), and 3) broken paravertebral stripes, continuous dorsolateral line and barred flanks (in PEM R 24157), similar to N. intertexta. Distribution. Found only in semi-arid south-western Angola, throughout much of Namibe Province and extending onto the escarpment of southern Hu í la and Cunene Provinces (Fig. 1). Known localities include: Maconjo (Bocage 1895: 30), Ponang Kuma (=Donguena) (Boulenger 1910: 472), 34 km from Namibe on Lubango road (Laurent 1964: 56), 34 km south of Tombwa (TM 40397), 8.8 km southwest of Farm Mucungo (this study), 10 km west of Lola (this study), and Capelongo (Monard 1937: 73). The locality of Caconda (Bocage 1895) extends the species distribution further north into Huíla Province, but the specimens could not be critically evaluated by Broadley (1972) and are now presumably lost. Habitat. The species appears to be associated with mopane woodlands, dry savannas, and semi-desert shrublands (Barbosa 1970). The new material was found in sandy plains with scattered low granite outcrops, with varying degrees of short grass cover and scattered bushes. Vegetation included Colophospermum mopane, Ficus sp., Senegalia (=Acacia) mellifera, Commiphora sp., Boscia foetida, and Salvadora persica. The confirmed historical records were also obtained within the dry woodland zone, even though the possible occurrence of the species in Caconda would place the species above 1,500 m asl and well into the mesic conditions of Brachystegia habitats (Barbosa 1970)., Published as part of Branch, William R., Conradie, Werner, Pinto, Pedro Vaz & Tolley, Krystal A., 2019, Another Angolan Namib endemic species: a new Nucras Gray, 1838 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from south-western Angola, pp. 82-95 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (2) on pages 86-91, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3731977, {"references":["Bocage JVB. 1895. Herpetologie d'Angola et du Congo. Ministerio da Marinha e das Colonias, Lisbonne, Portugal. 203 p., 20 pls.","Boulenger GA. 1910. A revised list of South African reptiles and batrachians, with synoptic tables, special reference of specimens in the South African Museum, and descriptions of new species. Annals of the South African Museum 5: 455 - 538.","Boulenger GA. 1917. A revision of the lizards of the genus Nucras, Gray. Annals of the South African Museum 13: 195 - 216.","Boulenger GA. 1920. Monograph of the Lacertidae. Volume 1. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London, United Kingdom. x + 352 p.","Monard A. 1937. Contribution a l'herpetologie d'Angola. Arquivos do Museu Bocage 8: 19 - 154.","Laurent RF. 1964. Reptiles et amphibiens de l'Angola (troiseme contribution). Publicacoes Culturais Com- panhia de Diamantes de Angola 67: 1 - 165.","Broadley DG. 1965. Some problems presented by sand lizards of the Nucras tessellata group. Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 1: 18 - 23.","Broadley DG. 1972. A review of the Nucras tessellata group (Sauria: Lacertidae). Arnoldia 20: 1 - 35.","Ceriaco LMP, de Sa SC, Bandeira S, Valerio H, Stanley EL, Kuhn AL, Marques M, Vindum JV, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM. 2016. Herpetological survey of Iona National Park and Namibe Regional Natural Park, with a synoptic list of the amphibians and reptiles of Namibe Province, Southwestern Angola. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 63 (2): 15 - 61.","Burger M. 2014. Nucras tessellata (A. Smith, 1838). Pp. 171 - 172 In: Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Editors, Bates MF, Branch WR, Bauer AM, Burger M, Marais J, Alexander GJ, de Villiers MS. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa. 485 p.","Marques MP, Ceriaco LMP, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM 2018. Diversity and distribution of the amphibians and terrestrial reptiles of Angola: atlas of historical and bibliographic records (1840 - 2017). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Series 4, 65 (Supplement II): 1 - 501.","Branch WR, Baptista N, Vaz Pinto P, Conradie W. 2019. The reptiles of Angola - History, updated checklists, endemism, hot spots, and future directions for research. Pp. 283 - 326 In: Biodiversity of Angola. Science and Conservation: A Modern Synthesis. Editors, Huntley BJ, Ferrand N, Russo V, Lages F. Springer Open, Cham, Switzerland. 552 p.","Barbosa LAG. 1970. Carta Fitogeografica de Angola. Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica de Angola, Luanda, Angola. 323 p."]}

Nothophryne Poynton, 1963 is a monotypic genus of frog, with the nominal species N. broadleyi found only on Mount Mulanje, in southern Malawi. Recent surveys in northern Mozambique, however, have uncovered at least four new species associated with four inselbergs (Mount Inago, Mount Namuli, Mount Ribáuè and Taratibu Hills). Previous phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial genes suggest that each mountain isolate has an endemic species of Nothophryne. Herein we provide a rediagnosis of the genus and comparative diagnoses of four new species based on new material. ZooBank— urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:19C53BF3-BA52-4CAE-933F-5BBEE0AF0457

Kinyongia mulyai sp. nov. Synonomy: Kinyongia adolfifriderici Tilbury 2010 Holotype. PEM-R 19199 (CT 426 — Fig. 11), a sub-adult male with partially everted hemipenes, collected by Colin Tilbury and Isak Hattingh on 21 st March 2010, from path side vegetation at 1700 metre a.s.l., Mount Nzawa, Moba District, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (6 ° 51.07 ’ S; 29 ° 35.87 ’ E). Diagnosis. Within the genera Kinyongia and Trioceros, the ontogenetic development of body crests and rostral process’s—whilst not developed to the same degree as seen in adults—is still evident in sub-adult specimens, and can be reliably used to determine the presence or absence of these characters. Although Kinyongia mulyai sp. nov. is known from only one sub-adult specimen, it is likely that the morphological characters are sufficiently well developed to provide reliable criteria on which to base a morphological determination. Kinyongia mulyai sp. nov. is distinguishable from the closely-related species K. adolfifriderici, K. gyrolepis (Greenbaum et al. 2012) and K. excubitor (Barbour 1911) by the absence of a dorsal crest in the male. It is also distinguished from K. adolfifriderici by having a narrower and more elongate head (Fig. 10), with a head length/inter-orbital width ratio of 4 (versus 3 for K. adolfifriderici), and from both K. gyrolepis and K. adolfifriderici by having a higher number of upper labial scales (17 vs. a maximum of 15 and 14 respectively; Greenbaum et al. 2012). Distinguished from all the other Kinyongia congeners by the absence of any form of naso-rostral ornamentation in males. Description of the Holotype. A small chameleon with a snout-vent length of 44mm and tail measuring 63mm. Head length from casque tip to snout 13.7mm and the inter-orbital width at mid orbit 2.8mm. Casque low, barely elevated above the nape. Parietal crest consists of a row of 3 enlarged tubercles at the apex of the casque. This forks anteriorly into two short rows each consisting of 2 low tubercles. Supra-orbital ridges more or less smooth. The supra-orbital ridges are separated from each other across the mid-orbital point by three flattened tubercles. The canthal ridge is adorned with a row of 4 prominent rounded tubercles—the most anterior the largest. A temporal crest composed of 4 similarly sized enlarged tubercles arises from the mid posterior orbital rim; this crest ascends along the posterior rim of the casque to its apex. The top of the casque and the zone below the temporal crest are covered with similar-sized, flattened tubercles. The nares open infero-posteriorly about midway between the anterior orbital rim and the snout. A single row of tubercles separates the inferior orbital rim and the upper labials. There is no rostral process. Seventeen upper labials and 17 lower labials are present from the tip of the snout to the posterior margin of the orbital rim. Two tubercles separate the upper labials from the end of the canthal ridge. There is no trace of a gular crest, or ventral crest. The sides of the body are clad with somewhat heterogeneous, flattened polygonal tubercles, with larger tubercles showing a tendency to rosette formation on the lower flanks. A network of thin interstitial grooves extends between the tubercles. There is no row of enlarged flank tubercles. The dorsal vertebral crest is represented by a single small cone at the nape behind the casque, followed by a second much smaller cone. Thereafter the dorsal keel is smooth. The tail is likewise smooth. The outer surfaces of the limbs are covered in enlarged flattened tubercles while the inner surfaces of the limbs are clad with small regular tubercles. Colour in Life. Head—Top of head olive green with lighter green tubercles on casque. Skin of eyeballs light brown with two thin horizontal stripes running through the middle and extending posteriorly along the temporal crest and anteriorly just below the canthal ridge. The zone below the temporal crest is powder blue scattered with greenish tubercles. A small triangular area between the mouth line, nares and the orbital rim is blue green. The gular region is suffused with pale orange and yellow extending posteriorly to between the front limbs. A pale line extends from below the eye to just beyond the commissure of the mouth. Background colouration of body is olive green. Interstitial skin between the tubercle rosettes on lower flanks forms a network of dark interstitium. The dark interstitium of the flanks is broken by two broad zones of pale interstitium extending from the dorsal ridge down over the flanks to the middle of the body. There is no white line on the abdomen. Outer side of limbs with light green tubercles, skin on inner sides of limbs off white. Tail olive green with many thin dark bands. Habitat. The Holotype was collected in closed canopy Afrotemperate montane forest at 1800 metres a.s.l. from path side vegetation, perched at approximately 2.5 metres from the ground. One other chameleon (not collected) was observed occupying a sleeping perch on an exposed liana vine over 20 metres above the ground. Etymology. Named for Mr. Jules Mulya, whose energetic support and assistance with smoothing away mountains of obstacles to the progress of the Mt. Nzawa expedition led to the discovery of both new species.

Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) hattinghi sp. nov. Synonymy: Rhampholeon boulengeri Tilbury 2010. Holotype. PEM-R 19194, an adult male with everted hemipenes, collected by Colin Tilbury and Isak Hattingh on 21 st March 2010, from path side vegetation at 1700 metres a.s.l., Mount Nzawa, Moba District, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (6 �� 51.07 ��� S; 29 �� 35.87 ��� E). Paratypes. PEM-R 19193, adult male; PEM-R 19195, adult male, PEM-R 19196, adult female; PEM-R 19197, adult female; PEM-R 19198, adult female; all collected on the same date and locality as the holotype. Diagnosis. Due to its markedly bicuspid claws, amelanotic parietal peritoneum and acalyculate bag-like hemipenes with dual apical horns, this taxon can be placed within the sub-genus Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) Matthee et al. 2004. In spite of the remarkably conserved external morphology within this genus, this new taxon is easily distinguishable from congeners by virtue of the following identifying characteristics: The consistent absence of deep mite pockets (or pits) in the inguinal flexure distinguishes this taxon from Rh. beraduccii Mariaux & Tilbury and the six species of the Rh. platyceps G��nther complex (Branch et al. 2014), including Rh. platyceps, Rh. chapmanorum Tilbury, Rh. maspictus Branch et al., Rh. tilburyi Branch et al., Rh. bruessoworum Branch et al. and Rh. nebulauctor Branch et al.; the presence of deep pits in the axillae of this taxon distinguishes it from Rh. nchisiensis Loveridge and Rh. acuminatus Mariaux & Tilbury; the relatively smooth supra-orbital and canthal crests distinguish this taxon from Rh. boulengeri, Rh. uluguruensis Tilbury & Emmrich and Rh. moyeri Menegon et al., in all of which a peaked cluster of tubercles forms distinct protuberances above the eye and the nasal aperture (Fig. 5). Description of Holotype. Snout-vent 56mm, tail 11mm. Body habitus leaf like - typical of all other Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) species. Head short, casque flattened, top of head shallowly concave. The lateral crests are studded with several prominent tubercles. Parietal crest indistinct, indicated by a short row of 3 marginally enlarged tubercles. The supra-optic ridge gathers into a low cluster of tubercles anteriorly above each eye, but without forming a supra-optic horn. The two supra-orbital ridges are connected to each other by a series of 18 inter-orbital tubercles arranged in a shallow V across the top of the head. The canthal ridges are formed by a row of enlarged, relatively smooth tubercles which terminate anteriorly at the base of a small, finely tuberculated stump-like process that barely projects off the anterior end of the snout. The nares open posteriorly, from a small bulge at a point roughly one third of the distance between the anterior orbital rim and the front of the maxilla. A distinct temporal crest arises from the mid post-orbital rim and consists of 5 tubercles on the right and six tubercles on the left, of which the most posterior is the largest. Three large sub-conical tubercles are spaced along the inferoposterior rim of the orbit. A prominent tubercle is situated just above the mouth in line with the posterior orbital rim. The dorsal vertebral line is weakly crenulated, fading to smooth over the pelvic region. The dorsal margin of the tail is likewise smooth. Deep axillary mite pockets (or pits) are present, whilst the inguinal flexures are smooth. The background scalation of the body, tail, limbs and belly is composed of tightly packed sub-homogeneous, stellate-edged tubercles. The gular region of the throat extending to between the front limbs is studded with many small conical tubercles. These also are found on the belly, underside of the tail and the underside and particularly on the outer-surface of the limbs. The sides of the body have regularly-spaced, enlarged conical tubercles, with three particularly enlarged cones situated in a row at midbody, the first sited above the shoulder, the second at midbody, and the last just before the pelvis. Claws are markedly biscuspid, several prominent palmar and plantar accessory spines are seen at the base of the toes, and the outer soles of the feet are relatively spinose whilst the inner soles are smooth with a cobblestone appearance. Colour in life. Adult male (Figs 6 & 7). Top of head and snout dark brown extending to cover the sides of the snout above the line of the mouth and to a lesser extent the eyeball and superior temporal zone. Eyeball with dark radiations especially prominent over the upper half of the eyeball. Gular region off-white. Body light brown mottled with olive green. Five dark blotches are spaced along the dorsal vertebral ridge, and a broad dark blotch is also located over the dorsum of the tail. Two thin dark green stripes, originating from the second and third vertebral blotches, extend infero-posteriorly over the flanks. Three dark spots are arrayed along the flank, each spot centred over a prominent conical tubercle. The inner sides of the fore and hind limbs pale orange. A prominent white spot is located on each side of the tail. Adult female stress pattern (Fig. 8). Dorsal ridge orange from the tip of the casque to the tip of the tail. Flanks speckled with small orange spots and three large white spots on the flanks, each surround an enlarged conical tubercle. Sides of head and gular region flecked in white, sometimes forming short vertical stripes. Eyeball dark and speckled with light blue tubercles. Lateral flank stripes dark but heavily flecked with light blue. Hemipenes. Short bag-like, truncus acalyculate; a pair of short, broad-based apical horns incurving above the sulcus spermaticus (Fig. 9). The upper surface of the horns is covered in closely packed thorn-like papillae, much like a pineapple skin. Fourteen papillae are arranged in a proximal or basal cluster terminating in a distal row of two papillae. Inferior to each apical horn, a prominent balloon-like membranous evagination billows anteriorly. Sexual Dimorphism. Apart from the prominent hemipenal bulges there is little sexual dimorphism evident in the type series (Table 4). In males the tail comprises between 16���23 % of the total length whilst in females it is between 14���18 % of total length. Number Sex Length Rp Casque/snout Sub-orbital Axil pit Inguinal pit (mm) (mm) rows *= Holotype, measurements in millimetres; s-v = snout-vent length; Io tub = inter-orbital tubercles; Io diam = interorbital diameter; Length Rp = length of rostral process; Sub-orbital rows = number of rows of tubercles between the inferior orbital rim and the upper labials; na = not measured. Variation. In the paratypes the parietal crest was either absent, or merely indicated as in the holotype. The supra-orbital crest is relatively smooth in all specimens, only forming a low cluster of tubercles in 2 specimens at the point where the inter-orbital tubercles terminate above the eye. The soles of the feet may vary from relatively smooth to a sub-acuminate field of tubercles. The hemipenes of PEM-R 19193 and PEM-R 19195 do not differ in any substantial way from that of the holotype. Reproduction. The parietal peritoneum in the abdominal cavity of the largest female (PEM-R 19198) was unpigmented and the fallopian tubes each held a single egg measuring 6.4mm x 5.6mm. Habitat. All specimens were found in closed canopy Afrotemperate montane forest on low vegetation alongside a path. Perch heights varied from a few centimetres up to 50 cm from the ground. Etymology. Named for Isak Hattingh, who enthusiastically but unwittingly agreed to accompany the first author on a trip which tested many boundaries. He never complained once., Published as part of Tilbury, Colin R. & Tolley, Krystal A., 2015, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Albertine Rift: Two new species of chameleon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae) from an isolated montane forest, south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, pp. 345-364 in Zootaxa 3905 (3) on pages 355-359, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3905.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/240513, {"references":["Tilbury, C. R. (2010) The Chameleons of Africa, an Atlas including the chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Edition Chimaira, Germany, 831 pp.","Matthee, C. A., Tilbury, C. R. & Townsend, T. (2004) A phylogenetic review of the African leaf chameleons: genus Rhampholeon (Chamaeleonidae): the role of vicariance and climate change in speciation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 271, 1967 - 1976. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1098 / rspb. 2004.2806","Branch, W. R., Bayliss, J. & Tolley, K. A. (2014) Pygmy chameleons of the Rhampholeon platyceps complex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae): Description of four new species from isolated ' sky islands' of northern Mozambique. Zootaxa, 3814 (1), 1 - 36. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3814.1.1"]}