Geckolepis spania VENCES, GLAW, KÖHLER, MIRALLES, DU PREEZ, PREICK, RAKOTOARISON, SCHERZ, HOFREITER & PETZOLD, 2026
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Geckolepis spania
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Geckolepis spania VENCES, GLAW, KÖHLER, MIRALLES, DU PREEZ, PREICK, RAKOTOARISON, SCHERZ, HOFREITER & PETZOLD 2026 |
| Distribution | N Madagascar (Ankarana National Park) Type locality: Ankarana National Park (on the way to Petit Tsingy and Grotte des Chauves Souries, 12.9569°S, 49.1183°E, 90 m above sea level), northern Madagascar |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 2124/2007 (field number FGZC 1140), collected by F. Glaw, P. Bora, H. Enting, J. Köhler & A. Knoll on 1 March 2007. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Assigned to the genus Geckolepis based on molecular phylogenetic relationships and body covered with large, imbricated scales. Characterized by small body size (but holotype is probably not adult), 26 scales around midbody, 34 ventral scale rows, condition A of mental scale, 7–8 supralabials, and presence of a dark stripe from eye to ear opening. The new species differs from G. modesta and G. megalepis by more scales around midbody (26 vs. 17–25), and from G. megalepis also by more ventral scale rows (34 vs. 27–32); from G. maculata (A+B) by more scales around midbody (26 vs. 22–25); from G. maculata (C) by fewer ventral scale rows (34 vs. 36–42); from G. humbloti by a larger number of supralabials compared to most specimens of that species (7–8 vs. 5??7); from G. typica by a different condition of mental scale (A vs. D); from G. polylepis by having fewer ventral scale rows (34 vs. 48–55) and fewer scales around midbody (26 vs. 35–38); reliable morphological differentiation from G. bekira is not possible at present. The new species can be differentiated from all other species and lineages in the genus complex by numerous diagnostic nucleotide positions in the mitochondrial genome. MolD identified for the nd4 fragment a robust diagnostic nucleotide combination of an “A” at site 876, and a “C” at site 943 (positions relative to the full nd4 gene of Geckolepis). (Vences et al. 2026) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about less than half a page) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. |
| Comment | Distribution: for a map of localities see Vences et al.l 2026: 217 (Fig. 4). |
| Etymology | Named after Greek σπάνιος (spánios = rare), used in the feminine gender in agreement with the genus name. It refers to the rare occurrence of this species, which is known from a single collected specimen, despite numerous herpetological explorations of its type locality, Ankarana National Park. |
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