34 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement II 
and ended only in 1974 after a military coup in Lisbon put an end to the ruling regime. Only then 
were negotiations initiated for the decolonization and independence of Angola, with Angola 
becoming independent in November 1975 after nearly 500 years of Portuguese control. Immedi¬ 
ately after independence, however, a violent civil war erupted that lasted until 2002; this war is 
divided into three main periods — 1975 to 1991, 1992 to 1994, and 1998 to 2002 — separated by 
brief and precarious peace agreements. The initial part of the conflict that occurred during the 
middle of the Cold War involved direct participation of local factions, the South African Armed 
Forces, the Cuban Armed Forces, and international mercenaries, as well as the indirect support of 
both the United States of America and the Soviet Union to the different competing factions. Given 
the growing violence and danger, field research in Angola stalled. Most studies related to the 
Angolan herpetofauna published in the years preceding and after the independence were based on 
previous collections. Broadley and Gans (1969) and Horton (1972) published some works on the 
Angolan herpetofauna, mostly based on specimens loaned from museums or sent by individual 
researchers. Gans (1976) described three new species of amphisbaenians — Monopeltis luandae, 
Monopeltis perplexus, and Dalophia angolensis — based on specimens from the AMNH, the 
Smithsonian Institution, the CZL and the MHNC. Jean-Luc Perret (1976) published the amphibian 
type catalog of Museu Bocage, Lisbon, noting several amphibian type specimens from Angola. 
Miguel Cei (1977) published a checklist and identification key of the amphibians of Angola, most¬ 
ly based on the collections of Museu Bocage. Last, Managas (1982) published a paper on the ven¬ 
omous snakes of former Portuguese overseas territories, which included new localities for several 
species in Angola, and Ruas (1996, 2002) published on the frogs collected by Frade in Angola. 
Due to the strong political ties between Angola and the Soviet Bloc in the first years after inde¬ 
pendence, teams from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) travelled to Angola as part of bilat¬ 
eral relationships. This provided the opportunity for Rainer Gunther (bom 1941) from the Muse¬ 
um f[ir Naturkunde Berlin (ZMB; at that time in East Berlin) to collect in Angola between 1981 
and 1983. These small collections were not later published on, though they remain in the ZMB 
collections. C. J. McCartney made the other collecting episode during the war, however in a very 
different context. As part of the South African Armed forces during the conflict in the Cuito-Cua- 
navale area (Cuando Cubango Province) in March/April 1988, McCartney collected a few reptile 
specimens that were later deposited in the collections of the Port Elizabeth Museum (PEM) in 
South Africa, and published on by Branch and McCartney (1992). 
The end of the civil war in 2002 and the political stabilization of the country led to the rebirth 
of biodiversity surveys in the country. Since then, field research conducted by different teams has 
led to the descriptions of new species, the discovery of taxa previously unknown to the country, 
and expanded knowledge on the diversity and distribution of the Angolan herpetofauna. This cur¬ 
rent trend shows no sign of abating, and there are many new activities, partnerships, and projects 
continue being initiatied. We provide a short list of some of the main recent or current projects 
related to Angolan herpetology, although we recognize that this list may not be complete. Possibly 
the first herpetological collection made since the end of the war was based on the environmental 
impact assessment (EIA) made for the constmction of the Capanda Dam in Malanje Province. 
From January to April 2003, a team composed of researchers from the Museu Nacional de Historia 
Natural of Luanda (MNHNL), the Gabinete de Aproveitamento do Medio Kwanza (GAMEK), and 
several EIA technicians, collected material in the area later flooded by the filling of the dam. Those 
specimens were deposited in the collections of the MNHNL and studied and published by Ceriaco 
et al. (2014b), resulting in considerable range extensions for several species, including a possible 
record of Kassina maculosa for Angola. Ongoing EIAs in the construction of the Laiica Dam, in 
the vicinity of Capanda, are expected to produce similar discoveries. 
