| Ichnotropis bivittata BOCAGE, 1866 Ichnotropis capensis sensu lato (SMITH, 1838) Ichnotropis chapini SCHMIDT, 1919 Ichnotropis grandiceps BROADLEY, 1967 Ichnotropis longicorpa CONRADIE et al., 2025 Ichnotropis microlepidota MARX, 1956 Ichnotropis robusta CONRADIE et al., 2025 Ichnotropis tanganicana BOULENGER, 1917 |
Peters, W.C.H. (1854) - Diagnosen neuer Batrachier, welche zusammen mit der früher (24. Juli und 17. August) gegebenen Übersicht der Schlangen und Eidechsen mitgetheilt werden. - Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1854: 614-628.  Laurent, R.F. (1964) - Ichnotropis - In: Reptiles et batraciens de l`Angola (troisième note). Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola), 67: 61-65.  Conradie, W. & Keates, C. & Greenbaum, E. & Lobón-Rovira, J. & Tolley, K.A. & Benito, M. & Vaz Pinto, P. & Breda, R.V. van & Verbrugt, L. (2025) - Systematics of African rough-scaled lizards, with description of two new species from eastern Angola (Squamata: Lacertidae: Ichnotropis PETERS, 1854). - Vertebrate Zoology, 75: 627–672.  × Ichnotropis is a genus of medium-sized lacertids endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, characterised by rough head shields. The genus
currently comprises six nominal species distributed across much of southern, central, and eastern Africa. Some species are apparently
active at only certain times of the year, resulting in limited specimen collections and severely hampering research. This scarcity of
material has historically made comprehensive systematic reviews of the genus difficult and has led to the description of numerous
regional morphological variants as distinct species or subspecies. Material collected in recent years has enabled us to provide a new
phylogenetic hypothesis of Ichnotropis using two mitochondrial genes (16S and ND4) and two nuclear genes (c-mos and RAG-1).
Our phylogenetic dataset includes 56 individuals representing five of the six currently recognised species (excluding I. chapini).
Additionally, the broad geographical sampling of the widespread I. capensis group has allowed us to explore the taxonomic status of
several species and subspecies within the group. As a result, we demonstrate the monophyly of Ichnotropis in relation to other African lacertids and present the most comprehensive phylogeny of the genus to date. We also provide the first phylogenetic placements
for I. tanganicana and I. grandiceps, which allows us to validate their taxonomic statuses. Furthermore, we recovered a new cryptic
species closely related to I. grandiceps, and identified several well-supported clades within the I. capensis group, all corroborated by
multi-locus species delimitation analyses. One of these clades is described herein as a new species, while the remaining taxa of interest are discussed and highlighted for future investigation. Based on our findings, we recommend the following taxonomic revisions:
Ichnotropis longipes and I. macrolepidota should remain synonyms of I. capensis; I. bivittata pallida and I. capensis nigrescens are
treated as a junior synonyms of I. bivittata; and I. overlaeti is considered a junior synonym of I. tanganicana. Although we could not
determine the phylogenetic placement of I. chapini due to the lack of genetic material, its head morphology and scalation support its
reassignment to the I. bivittata group. Thus, it is retained as a valid species pending the availability of new material for further taxonomic actions. In conclusion, this study resolves several long-standing taxonomic issues within one of Africa’s most understudied
lacertid genera and lays a solid foundation for future research on the genus Ichnotropis.
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