Panaspis breviceps (Peters, 1873)

Panaspis breviceps (Peters, 1873) View in CoL

Figure 8L View Figure 8

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • between Dinge and Chindende; –5.1076, 12.3326; 54 m a.s.l.; EI 758; GenBank: PQ456012. GoogleMaps • Mayombe NP, Miconge; –4.4860, 12.8780; 377 m a.s.l.; FKH 1046 , P2.205; GenBank: PQ456009–10. GoogleMaps • Mayombe NP, Vaku; – 4.6323, 12.8937; 319 m a.s.l.; FKH 0938 ; GenBank: PQ456011. GoogleMaps

Identification. Panaspis breviceps can be distinguished from other Angolan species based on the presence of movable lower eyelids and number of midbody scales ( Ceríaco et al. 2020). The specimens reported here were identified genetically, differing by <3% (16S p -distance) from material collected from between Bamenda and Douala, Cameroon (GenBank: KY683582 View Materials ) and Ivindo, Gabon (GenBank: OL457697 View Materials ) from where the species was described, and by ∼3% from material collected from Tshopo, DRC (GenBank Ascension: OL457698 View Materials ). Specimens from Cabinda Province cluster with the 16S lineage from western, central and eastern populations of the Congo Basin recognised by Lokasola et al. (2021).

Biology and distribution. The species is widely distributed in West and Central Africa from Cameroon to west DRC (in the west) and Cabinda Province (in the south), while some historical records suggest that the species’ geographic range may extend much further south along the western Angolan escarpment but requiring further examination and molecular validation ( Ceríaco et al. 2020). In Cabinda Province, the species was found along fast-flowing forest streams in the rainforest of Upper Mayombe, often seen moving swiftly among pebbles on the sides of streams or getting into the water to escape.