Ninda L. Baptista

CIBIO Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources; ISCED Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla

The global environmental crisis has reinforced the importance of improving the documentation of the geographical distributions of extant species. To this aim, species inventories of specific locations or regions are a high priority, especially so in poorly explored areas. Cabinda Province, an Angolan enclave located between the Republic of Congo an...

The amphibians of the highlands and escarpments of Angola and Namibia are a diverse group containing fifteen highland endemic or associated species. Both species richness and endemism are highest in the central and northern highlands of Angola, corresponding with higher rainfall. The Angolan highlands contain seven highland endemics, while the arid...

The pygmy toad genus Poyntonophrynus is endemic to southern Africa. The morphology of these small toads is conserved. They are usually dully colored, and are predominately adapted to arid conditions. During recent surveys in Angola we found Poyntonophrynus specimens that were not assignable to known species. Using an integrative approach, based on...

This article is the third and final installment of the herpetofaunal results obtained from a series of rapid biodiversity surveys of the upper Cuito, Cubango, Cuando, Zambezi, and Kwanza River basins in Angola. The amphibian survey results are presented along with an updated checklist of the historical and current records of amphibians from the sou...

** Available here: https://rdcu.be/c73lO ** Afromontane forests – a unique ecosystem of cool, moist temperate forest currently mostly restricted to high elevations – are a relic of glacial periods, when they were widespread in Africa. In south-western Africa, only ~700ha remain, all located in Angola. The Namba mountain range, in the highlands of...

This work is the second report of the results obtained from a series of rapid biodiversity surveys of the upper Cuito, Cubango, Cuando, Zambezi, and Kwanza River basins in Angola, which were conducted between 2015 and 2019 in conjunction with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. The herpetofauna of this region are poorly documented...

We here describe a new species of feather-tailed leaf-toed gecko, Kolekanos, from southern Benguela Province, Angola, based on morphological and osteological evidence, supported by phylogenetic analy- sis of mitochondrial data. The new species adds to the rapidly growing and newly-recognised endemic biodiversity of Angola, doubling the number of Ko...

African Shovel-snout snakes ( Prosymna Gray, 1849) are small, semi-fossorial snakes with a unique compressed and beak-like snout. Prosymna occur mainly in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 16 currently recognised species, four occur in Angola: Prosymna ambigua Bocage, 1873, P. angolensis Boulenger, 1915, P. frontalis (Peters, 1867), and P....

A new species of red toad, from the previously monotypic genus Schismaderma, is described. The new species was found in Malanje Province, and seems endemic to central Angola, occurring approximately 500 km west of the closest known records of Schismaderma carens. Unusual adult colouration and geographical distance to remaining S. carens populations...

The herpetofauna of Angola has been neglected for many years, but recent surveys have revealed previously unknown diversity and a consequent increase in the number of species recorded for the country. Most historical surveys focused on the north-eastern and south-western parts of the country, while mostly neglecting the central and south-eastern pa...

Aim Assessment of phylogenetic diversity and biogeographical affinities of the rodent fauna from one of the most neglected areas in Africa. Location Angola (with biogeographical implications in adjacent areas). Methods Inference of mitochondrial phylogenies for rodent genera occurring in Angola, delimitation of molecular operational taxonomic uni...

The taxonomy of Angolan Hemidactylus has recently been revised. However, the lack of fresh material for some groups and regions, has led to the misidentification of some taxa and an underestimation of actual diversity in others. To shed light on the evolutionary history and systematics of Angolan Hemidactylus, we generated a new phylogenetic hypoth...

Secondary sympatry among sister lineages is strongly associated with genetic and ecological divergence. This pattern suggests that for closely related species to coexist in secondary sympatry, they must accumulate differences in traits that mediate ecological and/or reproductive isolation. Here, we characterized inter‐ and intra‐specific divergence...

The taxonomy of Angolan Hemidactylus has recently been revised. However, the lack of fresh material for some groups and regions, has led to the misidentification of some taxa and an underestimation of actual diversity in others. To shed light on the evolutionary history and systematics of Angolan Hemidactylus , we generated a new phylogenetic hypot...

The African reedfrog taxon Alexteroon consists of only three described species with rather restricted geographical ranges. Although the assignment to a distinct genus is supported by multiple evidence, its position within the larger African hyperoliid radiation has been disputed. Available molecular data are scarce and the geographic records are fe...

Four new species of flat geckos in the Afroedura bogerti Loveridge, 1944 group are described from south-western and west-central Angola. The description of these new species significantly restricts the distribution range of typical A. bogerti , a morphologically very similar species, from which they differ genetically by 5.9–12% divergence for the...

Kassinula is a monotypic genus of small frog in the family Hyperoliidae, only represented by Kassinula wittei. This species morphologically resembles both Kassina Girard, 1853 and Afrixalus Laurent, 1944, and its taxonomic status has been debated for decades. It has previously been subsumed within Kassina, and is currently placed as a sister genus...

The Scaled Sandveld Lizard Nucras scalaris Laurent, 1964 is a poorly known lacertid endemic to north-eastern Angola and is only known from the type series collected more than half a century ago. The original description provided a comprehensive morphological description, but there was a lack of information regarding its evolutionary relationships a...

Bicuar National Park (BNP) is a protected area in southwestern Angola where biodiversity has been poorly studied. BNP is located on the Angolan plateau on Kalahari sands, in a transition zone between the Angolan Miombo Woodland and the Zambezian Baikiaea Woodland ecoregions. Herpetological surveys were conducted in BNP and surrounding areas, throug...

Two rare and endemic psammophines (Serpentes: Psammophiinae) occur in Angola. The taxonomic status of Psammophylax rhombeatus ocellatus Bocage, 1873 and Psammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905 have long remained problematic, with both having varied past and present taxonomic assignments, and whose distributions may therefore present zoogeographic anoma...

Os anfíbios de Angola têm sido estudados desde os meados do século xix por exploradores e cientistas de todo o Ocidente, com colecções depositadas em cerca de 20 museus e instituições da Europa, América do Norte e África. Este estudo sofreu uma interrupção significativa durante as quase quatro décadas da luta de libertação e guerra civil de Angola...

This review summarises the current status of our knowledge of Angolan reptile diversity, and places it into a historical context of understanding and growth. It is compared and contrasted with known diversity in adjacent regions to allow insight into taxonomic status and biogeographic patterns. Over 67% of Angolan reptiles were described by the end...

Angolan amphibians have been studied since the mid-nineteenth century by explorers and scientists from all over the western world, and collections have been deposited in around 20 museums and institutions in Europe, Northern America, and Africa. A significant interruption of this study occurred during Angola’s liberation struggle and civil war for...

O estado actual do conhecimento sobre a diversidade dos répteis de Angola é aqui tratada no contexto da história da investigação herpetológica no país. A diversidade de répteis é comparada com a diversidade conhecida em regiões adjacentes de modo a permitir esclarecer questões taxonómicas e padrões biogeográficos. No final do século xix, mais de 67...

The most poorly known section of the African Great Escarpment is located in Angola. It has been highlighted as a potential center of endemism for several biological groups, including herpetofauna. The region, which is critical for the conservation of Angolan biodiversity, requires urgent research. In the scope of the SASSCAL project, a herpetofauna...

Angolan amphisbaenids are poorly known as these legless burrowing lizards are seldom found, and field work in Angola was inhibited during the protracted civil war (1975–2002). The re-discovery of the endemic Monopeltis luandae four decades after its description is discussed, as well as the confusing type-locality of the endemic Monopeltis perplexus...

Angola White-headed Barbet Lybius [leucocephalus] leucogaster is endemic to Angola and regarded by BirdLife International as a species. It is known from a relatively small area above and below the escarpment in southwestern Angola. Despite several recent searches to find this, the last distinctive endemic Angolan bird taxon awaiting rediscovery, th...

In 1944 Loveridge described two new geckos from Angola, Afroedura karroica bogerti and Pachydactylus scutatus angolensis. The descriptions of both species have vague and confusing type localities and refinements are suggested based on early expedition reports, historical accounts from the region, and a review of cartographic material. Numerous new...

Falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera em Angola. O falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera ocorre em todo o norte da Namíbia até à fronteira com Angola, mas até agora não havia registros confirmados para Angola. Apresentamos os primeiros avistamentos, registros de nidificação e fotografias da espécie no Parque Nacional do Iona, no sudoeste do paí...

Triturus marmoratus es una de las especies de tritón más grandes dentro de su género, estando su dieta constituida por invertebrados y huevos y larvas de anfibios. A pesar de ello, de manera anecdótica se ha registrado también el consumo de ejemplares adultos de otras especies de tritones. En esta nota presentamos un nuevo caso de consumo de un eje...

A study combining DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, advertisement calls and morphology of some southern African river frogs confirms Amietia vandijki (Visser & Channing, 1997) as a good species. The form presently referred to as Amietia angolensis in southern Africa is shown to comprise two species: Amietia angolensis (Bocage, 1866)...