28 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement II 
Figure 21. Portrait of Francisco Newton 
(source Arquivo Historico Museu Bocage). 
Luanda to Malanje on two different occasions (Ferreira 
1904, 1906) resulting in the description of nine amphib¬ 
ian and one reptile species, some of which continue to 
be particularly problematic (Ceriaco et al. 2014a). The 
material collected in Namibe by Newton was never 
reviewed by Ferreira and it, along with the majority of 
Newton’s collection, is still housed in the Museu de 
Historia Natural da Universidade do Porto, Portugal. 
Other nineteenth century European naturalists, 
such as Albert Gunther, Wilhelm Peters (1815-1883), 
and George Albert Boulenger (1858-1937), also 
described new species from Angola based mostly on 
specimens sent by particular collectors. The British 
lieutenant Vemey Lovett Cameron (1844-1894), who 
explored Angola from the northeast (Lunda provinces) 
to Bie and Benguela in 1875, sent a small Angolan col¬ 
lection to the British Museum, including five reptile 
specimens (representing five different taxa), including 
the type of Ahaetulla bocagii described by Gunther 
(1888) (currently a synonym of Philothamnus variega- 
tus). Peters received herpetological material from two 
main German expeditions to the country. The first Ger¬ 
man expedition (1873-1876) was to the “Kingdom of 
Loango” Chinchoxo (Cabinda Province) and Loango 
(Malanje Province) sponsored by the Africanische Gesellschaft and led by Paul Gussfeldt (1840- 
1920) in the company of Dr. Julius Falkenstein (1842-1917), Max Buchner (1846-1921), and 
Major Friedrich Wilhelm A. von Mechow (1831-1904). The second German expedition by von 
Mechow and Major A. von Homeyer (1834-1903) to Malanje (Kwango River) and Pungo Andon- 
go occurred from 1879 to 1882 and included an incursion to the Lundas from 1879-1880 by Buch¬ 
ner. From the first expedition to Chinchoxo, Peters described colonorum var. congica (cur¬ 
rently considered a full species), Neusterophis atratus (currently considered a synonym of 
Natriciteres olivacea (Peters, 1854)), Atractaspis congica, Hyperolius leptosomus and Hyperolius 
adspersus (Peters 1877a), and also Euprepes notabilis (Peters 1879; currently considered a 
synonym of Trachylepis maculilabris (Gary, 1845)). For this last description, Peters also used one 
specimen from Pungo Andongo from Major A. von Homeyer. Based on the Malanje collection 
from Mechow, Peters (1881) Xenocalamus mechowii mid Microsoma collare, mid Hyper¬ 
olius vermiculatus (Peters 1882a) (currently considered a part of the Hyperolius angolensis species 
complex). From Buchner’s Lundas expedition, he described (currently Sclerophrys) buchneri 
(Peters 1882b). 
Boulenger described several new species from Angola based partly on material sent by 
Bocage. These include Mabouia (currently Trachylepis) bocagii (Boulenger, 1887) based on two 
specimens, one collected by Pinheiro Bayao in Duque de Branganga (currently Calandula) and 
other by F. Welwitsch collected at Pungo Andongo, and Lycophidion meleagre Boulenger, 1893 
from Ambrizette. In addition, Boulenger studied the collection of Indian-bom William John 
Ansorge (1850-1913), who explored the Congo basin between 1903 and 1909 and collected exten¬ 
sively in Angola (Luanda, Bengo, Kwanza Norte, Malanje, Bie, Huila, Benguela and Namibe 
provinces) from 1903 to 1905. Ansorge’s collections were sent to the British Museum where they 
