46 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement II 
The Southern zone covers the center and south of the country, incorporating southern Malan- 
je, Bie, Lunda Sul, Mexico, Cuando Cubango, Cunene, Huila, Namibe and Benguela, but extends 
further north on the coast. This zone corresponds to the area of all southern river basins and the 
coastal rivers south of the Kwanza River mouth. This area is dominated by genera and species 
typical of East and especially Southern Africa, for which their Angolan distribution represents, in 
many cases, the northern extent of their distributions. This southern zone is divided into: 
(1) “Angolan mountains and high plateaus,” a large area, limited by the Escarpment in the 
west, by the northern limits of the Kwanza River in the north, and by the Zambezi peneplains in 
the southeast and the Dry Mutiati zone in the south. It is an area situated above 1000 m with a 
climate different from that of lower elevations near the coast. It is probably the most diverse region 
in the country, particularly in terms of reptiles. It supports a high number of endemics or near 
endemics, such as Hyperolius chelaensis, Sepsina angolensis, Trachylepis monardi, Cordylus 
angolensis, and Bids heraldica. 
(2) “Zambezi peneplains” dominate the southwest of the country, an area including both 
the Zambezi and Okavango river basins. This extensively irrigated area has many affinities with 
Zambia, Botswana and the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia. Kassina kuvangensis, 
Poyntonophrynus kavangensis, Acontias kgalagadi, Typhlacontias rhoani, and Psammophis jallae 
are representative taxa. 
(3) “Dry Mutiati [Mopane] woodlands of southwestern Angola” it is rouglhy coincident 
with the Kunene and Cuvelai river basins in southern Huila and Cunene provinces. It is an area of 
lower elevation, dominated by mopane woodlands, and having a distinct herpetological fauna, 
as for example Typhlacontias rohani, Dalophia pistillum, Monopeltis anchietae, Monopeltis 
infuscata, Namibiana rostrata, Psammophis subtaeniatus, Hildebrandtia ornata, Mertensophryne 
mocquardi, Pyxicephalus edulis, and Aubria sp. 
(4) The “Namibe true desert zone” encompasses the strip of dune desert in southwestern 
Namibe Province. This desert, the continuation of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, is one of the 
more extreme habitats in Angola, with little vegetation cover and mostly dominated by sand dunes. 
There are several species known to occur in Angola only in this area, including Pachydactylus 
rangei, Meroles anchietae, Gerrhosaurus skoogi, and Bids peringueyi. 
(5) The “subdesert” zones a extends from southern Namibe to Benguela, at low elevations, 
and has xeric vegetation, similar to that of that of the Kaokoveld in Namibia. It is an important area 
of endemism, with several unique lineages and even the endemic genus Kolekanos. It also has a 
spectactular diversity of skinks, many of them mostly restricted in Angola to this area. Examples 
include Trachylepis punctulata, T hoeschi, T lacertiformis, Sepsina copei, etc., geckos 
(genera Chondrodactylus, Rhoptropus and Pachydactylus), and lacertids (genus Pedioplanis). It is 
also the habitat for endemic (or near-endemic) frogs including Poyntonophrynus grandisonae, 
Tomopterna damarensis, and Phrynomantis affmis. 
(6) A coastal zone, that follows from the subdesert zone towards the north, the limits of 
which are hard to establish. It can be argued that this coastal zone, mostly sandy and dominated by 
Acacia sensu lato and Euphorbia species, functions as an invasive strip of the southern zone into 
the north, parallel to the role of the Escarpment as a corridor for northern taxa. It accounts for 
the prevalence of southern taxa at even low latitudes along the coast, as in Chondrodactylus 
pulitzerae, Trachylepis acutilabris, Varanus albigularis angolensis, or Breviceps sp. This “coastal 
zone” may penetrate further inland at the Kwanza River area in Quigama National Park. 
The boundaries of the above-proposed regions are, of course, permeable. There are currently 
several examples that illustrate that lineages typical of one or another biogeographic region, have 
