Dear SARCA Supporters,

SA REPTILES AUCTION AND EXPO

Thanks a million to everyone at SA Reptiles for the funds that they raised for SARCA through the auction of goods kindly provided by Don (www.mfezi.com) and his sponsors. Remember that the SOS² Reptile Expo will take place at Emperors Palace (Gauteng) on the 22nd and 23rd of March - the draws for the Virtual Museum competition will be made at this event.

SARCA WEBSITE AND VIRTUAL MUSEUM

The SARCA website, Virtual Museum has MOVED HOME and can now be found at http://sarca.adu.org.za/. The main reason for the move was to increase the server space available to the Virtual Museum so that we can accommodate all of your submissions. On that subject, VM submissions dropped off in January but picked up again in February, and we have now processed over 4200 records in total. Although SARCA is in its final year and the cutoff date for submissions for the VM competition has just past, we are still accepting reptile records so please continue to send your submissions to sarca@adu.org.za.

Summary of contributions, SARCA numbers 3001-4000

Below the summary of your contributions that made up the fourth thousand records in the VM (3001 - 4000) - interspersed with some photos illustrating the latest reptile camo fashion trend, to break the monotony of the long list. Thanks to all of you for taking the time and trouble to send us your photos. Contributers who sent 10 or more records are in bold, and those that sent 50 or more are also underlined.

Abram K. (25) - Adam S. (2) - Adams M. (5) - Anderson M.D. (2) - Armstrong A.J. (1) - Armstrong A.J. & Wimberger K. (1) - Badenhorst W.J. (7) - Becker R.W. & Moller A. (39) - Bezuidenhout M. (1) - Bleeker M. (3) - Bosman K (2) - Bowker M.B. (5) - Braat P. (55) - Buys E. (1) - Carey K.I. (2) - Carstens M. (2) - Coetzer A. (53) - Combrink H.J. (1) - Cooke D. & Cooke I. (22) - Deacon A.R. (4) - De Klerk B. (1) - de Kock M. (5) - de Swardt D. (1) - Diedericks G. (54) - Dorse C. & van Rooyen S. (84) - Douglas M. (39)

Southern Rock Agama Agama atra, by M. de Kok (SARCA 3078)	Gaboon Adder Bitis gabonica, by K. Tolley (SARCA 3088)

Douque R. (3) - du Plessis A. (1) - Du Plessis J.B. (1) - Els J. (30) - Erni B., Altwegg R., Kainz M. & Gsollpointner C. (5) - Evans S.W. (2) - Fleming C. (1) - Fourie A. (10) - Fourie H. (1) - Freislich J. (1) - Gavhi M.P. (2) - Gerber B. (3) - Gilfillan C. (1) - Haas F. (1) - Hardaker T. & Hardaker M. (77) - Harvey E. (1) - Hawkins R. (2) - Helme N.A. (3) - Heydenrych M. (10) - Heymans J.A. (7) - Hodgson A. & McBurnie H. (86) - Hodgson A. (2) - Holter T. (1) - Janse v Rensburg J.P. (4) - Jones A. (7) - Kirkman S. (1) - Koen D. (46) - Kok A. (8) - Kotze P.J. (1) - le Roux E.R. (13) - le Roux E.R. & de Kock M. (1) - le Roux E.R. & Douque R. (3) - le Roux E.R. & Job E. (2) - le Roux E.R. & le Roux B.A. (3)

Horned Adder Bitis caudalis, by E.R. le Roux and L. Wolfaardt (SARCA 3131)	Namaqua Chameleon Chameleo namaquensis, by A. Coetzer (SARCA 3219)

le Roux E.R. & Wolfaardt L. (2) - Lotter J.S.S. (1) - Lurner W. (1) - Maartens S. & Maartens R. - (1) - Maguire D. (19) - Maphisa D. (10) - McBurnie H. (8) - McCartney S. & Diedericks G. (1) - McCleland W. (3) - McKenzie D.R. (5) - Meyer P. (2) - Oberem P.T. (2) - Palmer P.A. (1) - Peacock F. (12) - Pietersen A. (1) - Pratley C. & Jackson A. (1) - Richter W. (1) - Robinson E. (1) - Shufran K. (1) - Swanepoel V. (1) - Symes C.T. (4) - Theron N. (3) - Theron N. & Visser B. (1) - Tolley K. (2) - Tolley K.A. & Measey G.J. (2) - Tomsett G. (14) - Turner A. (CN/HNCO) (2) - Underhill L. (1)

Western Sandveld Lizard Nucras tessellata, by A. Kok (SARCA 3421)	Boomslang Dispholidus typus typus, by M. Witberg and P. Joubert (SARCA 4128)

van der Walt B. (12) - Van der Westhuizen L. (1) - van der Westhuizen L.J. (1) - van Rooyen J. (1) - van Zyl G. (7) - Venter J.D (2) - von Staden R. (1) - Vos P. (1) - Wallace C. (2) - Webster K. (5) - Willis C.K. (9) - Wilson B.Y. (22) - Witberg M. (13) - Witberg M. & Albertyn R. (3) - Witberg M. & Joubert P. (1) - Witberg M. & Neumann J. (1) - Witberg M. & Smit K. (2) - Witberg M. & Van Zyl R. (10) - Witberg M. & Vivier W. (2) - Witberg M. & Witberg G. (1) - Witberg M. (CN/HNCO) (38) - Witberg M., Albertyn R., Van Zyl R. & Havenga M. (2) - Witberg M., Smit K. & Albertyn R. (1) - Witberg M., Van Zyl R. & Smit K. (2) - Wolfaardt L. (6)

Marius's Top Ten, SARCA VM records 1001-2000

To date, just over 4000 records have been submitted to the SARCA Virtual Museum. Although most of these were of species that are relatively common, some submissions were of very rare reptiles, including species that I myself have never encountered before. In Newsletter No. 7 I made a selection of the top 10 special species, drawn from the first 1000 records submitted. Now I'm doing the same for the next 1000 records. Of course, judging the novelty rating of a particular record will differ between various evaluators – thus the following ranking is according to my personal opinion only. I will present the top 10 of records 2001-3000 in the next SARCA newsletter.

Plain Mountain Adder, by I. Scammel	Boulenger's Garter Snake, by M. Douglas

#1 is SARCA 1164: Bitis inornata - Plain Mountain Adder, submitted by I. Scammel. Topping the charts of 1001-2000 Virtual Museum submissions is a very rare snake. In fact, less than ten specimens of these small adders have been collected from the wild. The Plain Mountain Adder was described in 1838. A 2nd specimen was collected 137 years later, and a few more in the 1980s. Good one!

#2 is SARCA 1840: Elapsoidea boulengeri - Boulenger's Garter Snake, submitted by M. Douglas. This snake is high on my personal wish list, but I doubt it if I will ever encounter one. A secretive beauty…

Fisk's House Snake, by I. Scammel	Bicoloured Quill-snouted Snake, by D. Maguire

#3 is SARCA 1038: Lamprophis fiskii, Fisk's House Snake, submitted by I. Scammel. Even very flat and long dead Fisk's are interesting, and this case the squashed specimen represents a new distribution record, i.e. south of Aberdeen.

#4 is SARCA 1868: Xenocalamus bicolor bicolor, Bicoloured Quill-snouted Snake, submitted by D. Maguire. A poorly known snake, and Kimberley is a new locality record for this species.

Two-striped Shovel-snout, by D. Maguire	Yellow-bellied House Snake, by C. Dorse and S. van Rooyen

#5 is SARCA 1956: Prosymna bivittata - Two-striped Shovel-snout, also submitted by D. Maguire. A widespread and probably quite common species, but not very often encountered.

#6 is SARCA 1710: Lamprophis fuscus - Yellow-bellied House Snake, submitted by C. Dorse and S. van Rooyen. Also a widespread snake, but it is somewhat of a mystery species and you would be lucky to find one.

Cape Spade-snouted Worm Lizard, by B.Y. Wilson	Eastern Bark or Mopane Snake, by G. Lockwood

#7 is SARCA 1409: Monopeltis capensis - Cape Spade-snouted Worm Lizard, submitted by B.Y. Wilson. Amphisbaenians are always interesting, even if it is a relatively common species such as this one. Worm lizards are seldom found above ground.

#8 is SARCA 1453: Hemirhagerrhis nototaenia - Eastern Bark or Mopane Snake, submitted by G. Lockwood. Actually quite a common species, but try and find one!

Setaro's Dwarf Chameleon, by A.J. Armstrong, P. Ngwenya & P.S. Goodman	Variegated Slug-eater, by D. Maguire

#9 is SARCA 1462: Bradypodion setaroi - Setaro's Dwarf Chameleon, submitted by A.J. Armstrong, P. Ngwenya and P.S. Goodman. This record is special because it is the first of a dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion) from Mozambique.

#10 is SARCA 1380: Duberria variegata - Variegated Slug-eater, submitted by D. Maguire. A common species, but an unusual xanthic colour form. This one had herpetologists hesitating before casting their ID.

WHO'S WHO IN THE SARCA ZOO

Here are four more of the professional herpers who are making valuable contributions to SARCA by writing species accounts for the reptile Atlas and Red Data Book and/or serving on the panel of experts who make the Virtual Museum identifications.

Andrew Turner says: I have had chronic biophilia compounded with an acute case of herpetophilia since pre-school days and it seems the affliction is permanent. I am very lucky to live in one of the world's biodiversity hotspots and doubly so for also being able to work as a scientist for CapeNature amid this biological wealth. The patterns of how reptiles and amphibians are distributed over the landscape is intriguing, particularly in the Western Cape. The Cape Fold Mountains provide a unique and revealing look into the process of speciation and it is this aspect of evolution that is my main current research focus. Simple distribution data as collected by SARCA is enormously valuable for both herpetologists and for the conservation of these special creatures.

Aaron Bauer says: I am professor of Biology at Villanova University in the United States. My research interests are in the systematics and biogeography of lizards, particularly geckos and skinks. I have worked extensively in southern Africa, especially in Namibia and in the Northern Cape. I also work on the herpetofaunas of the South Pacific and tropical Asia. I have described about 100 new species of lizards and enjoy making taxonomic changes that perturb my friends and colleagues.

Bill Branch says: Nothing - we think he’s shy. So we say: Bill, one of SA’s Reptile Royalty Family, is the country's leading reptile taxonomist and has been Curator of Herpetology at the Port Elizabeth Museum since 1979. He has published over 130 scientific papers as well as a number of books (including the Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of South Africa and the SA Red Data Book - Reptiles and Amphibians) and numerous popular articles. He serves on the board of the International Herpetological Society and in 2004, the Herpetological Association of Africa presented him with the “Exceptional Contribution to Herpetology” award and life membership with the association.

Marius Burger says: I am the Project Herpetologist for the Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment (SARCA), the best job in the world! My interest in herps has over the years provided me with oh so many opportunities to explore the bundus, including exciting countries such as Gabon, Central African Republic, Madagascar and of course Southern Africa. I spent eleven years as a research assistant with Eastern Cape Nature Conservation, followed by a longish stint with the ADU during the SA Frog Atlas years. Herping is my life - I can't do anything else.

SARCA is a joint project of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the Herpetological Association of Africa (HAA), and the Avian Demography Unit (ADU), Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town.