Ansorge's Sand Snake

Ecology: NB 600 was collected while active during the day in montane grassland in rocky soil, near a patch of dwarf miombo, in the middle of the dry season (13 th of July, 2017). This female snake was gravid, containing nine eggs (three in the left oviduct and six in the right) that measured 22 – 31 mm in length. Conservation: P. ansorgii and Ps. ocellatus are two of only five known endemic Angolan snakes (Branch 2018), that occur sympatrically in the Tundavala region of the Humpata plateau, a region highlighted as a centre of herpetofaunal endemism (Laurent 1964, Baptista et al. 2018). Although the distributions of both species are still poorly known, and inland records indicate that both are not restricted to montane grassland habitat, their cooccurrence in the Tundavala region reinforces the need for its protection, which has been previously highlighted (Huntley & Matos 1994) but still lacks implementation (Baptista et al. 2018). The areas where both species were found undergo man-made fire every year. It is not known how this habitat disturbance affects these species. More surveys are required to assess the conservation status of both Angolan endemics, and other localized and potentially endemic lizards such as Chamaeleo anchietae, Eumecia anchietae and Rhoptropus montanus.