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Issue: Vol. 1925 No. 1: 7 Nov. 2008
Type: Article
Published: 2008-11-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1925.1.5
Page range: 39–50
Abstract views: 35
PDF downloaded: 1

Gecko on the rocks: an enigmatic new species of Gonatodes (Sphaerodactylidae) from Inselbergs of the Venezuelan Guayana

Museo de Biología, La Universidad del Zulia, Facultad Experimental de Ciencias, Apartado Postal 526, Maracaibo 4011, Estado Zulia, Venezuela
Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, USA
Reptilia Gonatodes infernalis sp. nov. Sphaerodactylidae Gekkota Inselbergs Venezuelan Guayana

Abstract

A new species of diurnal gecko of the genus Gonatodes is described from Inselbergs (granite outcrops) on the western peripheral lowlands of the Guiana Shield, Venezuela. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners by the following characters: large size (the new species is the largest known sphaerodactyl gecko), supraciliary spine absent, females with immaculate brown dorsal coloration, and a subcaudal scale pattern found in only one other species in the genus. The new species is also unique in the genus in being restricted to rock outcrops and shows potential adaptations to this type of habitat.

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