Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 3505 No. 1: 3 Oct. 2012
Type: Articles
Published: 2012-10-03
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3505.1.5
Page range: 67–74
Abstract views: 63
PDF downloaded: 1

Genetic and morphological evidence on the species validity of Gekko melli Vogt, 1922 with notes on its diagnosis and range extension (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol/The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135 Xingangxi Road, Guangzhou 510275, P. R. China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol/The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135 Xingangxi Road, Guangzhou 510275, P. R. China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol/The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135 Xingangxi Road, Guangzhou 510275, P. R. China
Shenzhen Park Service, Shenzhen 518040, P. R. China
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Management and Technology/Academy of Shenzhen environmental science, Shenzhen 518001, P. R. China
Reptilia Gekko melli Gekko subpalmatus species validity 16S rRNA taxonomy China

Abstract

Mell’s gecko Gekko melli Vogt, 1922, a poorly known gecko species in China, had been previously treated as synonym ofGekko subpalmatus for a rather long time. It was recently resurrected as a valid species on the basis of morphological com-parisons of type specimens with the latter species. In this study, we confirmed the specific validity of G. melli based on aset of specimens we collected from China, as well as on the basis of molecular genetic analysis. We also provide a more complete morphological description and diagnosis of G. melli.

References

  1. Jonniaux, P. & Kumazawa, Y. (2008) Molecular phylogenetic and dating analyses using mitochondrial DNA sequences of eyelid geckos (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Gene, 407, 105–115.

    Kluge, A.G. (1991) Checklist of gekkonoid lizards. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service, (85), 1–35.

    Ngo, V.T. & Gamble, T.- (2010) A new species of Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tà Kóu Nature Reserve, Binh Thuan Province, Southern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 2346, 17–28.

    Ngo, V.T., Bauer, A.M., Wood, P.L. & Grismer, J.L. (2009) A new species of Gekko Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Dong Nai Province, Southeastern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 2238, 33–42.

    Nguyen, N.S. (2010) A new poreless species of Gekko Laurenti, 1768 (Gekkonidae: Squamata) from An Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 2501, 54–60.

    Nguyen, Q.T., Schmitz, A. & Böhme, W. (2010) Gekko ulikovskii Darevsky & Orlov, 1994: a junior synonym of Gekko badenii Szczerbak & Nekrasova, 1994. Bonn Zoological Bulletin, 57(1), 15–17.

    Ota, H., Lau, M.W., Weidenhöfer, T., Yasukawa, Y. & Bogadek, A. (1995) Taxonomic review of the geckos allied to Gekko chinensis Gray 1842 (Gekkonidae, Reptilia) from China and Vietnam. Tropical Zoology, 8, 181–196.

    Palumbi, S., Martin, A., Romano, S., McMillan, W.O., Stice, L. & Grabowski, G. (1991) The Simple Fool’s Guide to PCR. Version 2.0. Department of Zoology and Kewalo Marine Laboratory. University of Hawaii, Honolulu.

    Pope, C.H. (1935) The Reptiles of China. Turtles, Crocodilians, Snakes, Lizards. Natural History Central Asia Vol. 10. American Museum of Natural History, New York, 604 pp.

    Rösler, H. & Tiedemann, F. (2007) Gekko melli Vogt, 1922 and its types (Reptilia, Sauria, Gekkonidae). Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Zoologische Reihe, Supplement, 83, 105–108.

    Rösler, H., Nguyen, Q.T., Doan, V.K., Ho, T.C., Nguyen, T.T. & Ziegler, T. (2010) A new species of the genus Gekko Laurenti (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Vietnam with remarks on G. japonicus (Schlegel). Zootaxa, 2329, 56–68.

    Rösler, H., Ziegler, T., Vu, N.T., Herrmann, H.W. & Böhme, W. (2005) A new lizard of the Genus Gekko Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. Bonner zoologische Beiträge, 53, 135–148.

    Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F. & Maniatis, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York

    Tamura, K., Peterson, D., Peterson, N., Stecher, G., Nei, M. & Kumar, S. (2011) MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Using Maximum Likelihood, Evolutionary Distance, and Maximum Parsimony Methods. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28, 2731–2739.

    Thompson, J.D., Gibson, T.J., Plewniak, F., Jeanmougin, F. & Higgins, D.G. (1997) The CLUSTAL_X windows interface: flexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. Nucleic Acids Research, 25, 4876–4882.

    Wang, Y.Y., Yang, J.H. & Cui, R.F. (2010) A new species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Yingde, Guangdong Province, China. Herpetologica, 66, 208–219.

    Zhao, E. & Adler, K. (1993) Herpetology of China. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford, Ohio, 522 pp.

    Zhao, E., Zhao, K. & Zhou, K. (1999) Reptilia [In Chinese with English Abstract]. In: Hongfu, Z., Zuoxin, Z. & Daxiang, S. (Eds.), Fauna Sinica. Science Press, Beijing, 394 pp.

    Zhou, K. & Wang, Q. (2008) New species of Gekko (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from China: morphological and molecular evidence. Zootaxa, 1778, 59–68.

    Zhou, K.-Y., Liu, Y.-Z. & Li, D.-J. (1982) Three new species of Gekko and remarks on Gekko hokouensis (Lacertiformes, Gekkonidae) [In Chinese with English Abstract]. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 7, 438–446.

    Ziegler, T & Nguyen, T.Q. (2010) New discoveries of amphibians and reptiles from Vietnam. Bonn Zoological Bulletin, 57, 137–147.