200 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement II 
Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926 Barnard’s Namib Day Gecko 
Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt 1926a:413, pi. 35, figs. 1-3. Syntypes: SAM 16639 (6 specimens) (K.H. Barnard 
and R.F. Lawrence). Type locality: “near Eriksson’s Drift, Kunene River,” Cunene Province, Angola. 
Rhoptropus barnardi'. Laurent (1964a:35), Branch (1998:267), Ceriaco et al. (2016a:26, 55). 
Global conservation status (lUCN): Not Evaluated. 
Global distribution: Occurs mainly inland of the northern Namib Desert, from central 
Namibia to Southern Angola, reaching its eastern limit in the Otavi Highlands of northern 
Namibia. 
Ocurrences in Angola (Map 148): The 
species is known from Namibe and Cunene 
provinces in southwestern Angola. Cunene; 
“near Eriksson’s Drift, Kunene River” 
[-17.26944, 14.525] (Hewitt 1926a:41). 
Namibe: “ km 60 de la route de Mo^amedes a 
Sa da Bandeira” [-15.00000, 12.66667] (Lau¬ 
rent 1964a:35; Ceriaco et al. 2016a:55); 
“Approximately 7.35 km north-west (by road) 
of Pico Azevedo” [-15.47519, 12.46319] 
(Ceriaco et al. 2016a:26); “Omauha Lodge” 
[-16.20033, 12.40003] (Ceriaco et al. 
2016a:26); “ Iona National Park, Rio Curoca 
crossing. North side ofthe river” [-16.30189, 
12.42028] (Ceriaco et al. 2016a:26); “ Iona 
National Park, Rio Curoca crossing, south side 
ofthe river” [-16.30408, 12.41667] (Ceriaco et 
al. 2016a:26); “ Iona National Park, Rio Curo¬ 
ca in the Pediva Hot Springs area” [-16.28359, 
12.56106] (Ceriaco et al. 2016a:26); “Namibe-Lubango road, 2 km east (by road) of Mangueiras, 
south side of the road” [-15.04467, 13.15906] (Ceriaco et al. 2016a;27); “Iona National Park” 
[-15.77317, 12.33303] (Ceriaco et al. 2016a:27). 
Taxonomic and distributional notes: Schmidt (1933) reported some specimens identified as 
Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926 but, absent appropriate comparative material, he was unaware 
that his specimens represented a new taxon (Bauer and Good 1996), Rhoptropus taeniostictus 
Laurent, 1964. Rhoptrops bradfieldi is broadly distributed in a variety of mainly rocky habitats 
from below the Escarpment and on the “Huila Plateau” (Haacke and Odendaal 1981). However, 
the range in Angola is poorly known, so if populations are continuous or fragmented is uncertain. 
Specific records from Huila have not been published but are relatively numerous. 
A record from “Novo Redondo” [= Sumbe] (Bauer and Good 1996) is in error, as there is no 
mention of this locality in the work which these authors cite (Haacke and Odendaal 1981). The 
discovery of a species that is superficially similar to R. barnardi (see Rhoptropus sp. below) neces¬ 
sitates the reexamination of specimens, especially those occurring north of Mossamedes (Namibe 
City) in order to determine the true distribution of both taxa. 
Map 148. Distribution of Rhoptropus barnardi in 
Angola. 
Rhoptropus benguellensis Mertens, 1938 Benguela Namib Day Gecko (Endemic) 
Rhoptropus boultoni benguellensis Mertens 1938a:431, figs. 4-5. Holotype: SMF 25275 (eolleetor 
W. Sehaek). Type loeality: “Cubal, 900m H., Prov. Benguela, Angola.” 
