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Rhacodactylus leachianus (CUVIER, 1829)

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Higher TaxaDiplodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
SubspeciesRhacodactylus leachianus henkeli SEIPP & OBST 1994
Rhacodactylus leachianus leachianus (CUVIER 1829) 
Common NamesE: New Caledonia Giant Gecko 
SynonymA[scalabotes] leachianus CUVIER 1829
Pteroplura (Gecko) Leachianus — GRAY 1831 (in GRIFFITH & PIDGEON)
Ascalabotes leachianus — GRIFFITH & PIDGEON 1831
Lomatodactylus (Platydactylus) Leachianus — VAN DER HOEVEN 1833
Gecko leachii SCHINZ 1834
Platydactylus Leachianus — WIEGMANN 1834
Platydactylus leachianus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 315
Hoplodactylus (Rhacodactylus) leachianus — FITZINGER 1843
Rhacodactylus Leachianus — BOCAGE 1873
Rhacodactylus Aubrianus BOCAGE 1873 (fide ROUX 1913)
Rhacodactylus Aubryanus BOCAGE 1881
Rhacodactylus leachianus — BOULENGER 1883
Rhacodactylus aubryanus — BOULENGER 1883: 125
Rhacodactylus leachianus — BOULENGER 1885: 176
Rhacodactylus aubryanus — BOULENGER 1885: 177
Rhacodactylus leachianus aubryanus — ROUX 1913
Rhacodactylus leachianus — MERTENS 1964: 49
Rhacodactylus leachianus leachianus — KLUGE 1967
Rhacodactylus leachianus — KLUGE 1993
Rhacodactylus leachianus — RÖSLER 2000: 108
Rhacodactylus leachianus — BAUER et al. 2012

Rhacodactylus leachianus henkeli SEIPP & OBST 1994
Rhacodactylus leachianus henkeli — SCHÖNECKER & SCHÖNECKER 2009 
DistributionNew Caledonia; Isle of Pine; Belep Isles (?)

henkeli: restricted to the Ile des Pins south off New Caledonia; Type locality: “Ile de Pins, Neukaledonien”.

Type locality: not given (fide WERMUTH 1965).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 6687
Holotype: SMF 75976, male; paratypes: MTKD, ZFMK, MNHN [henkeli]
Holotype: lost, was MHNG 769.94, MLI* [aubrianus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Rhacodactylus, as previously construed was a metataxon, a paraphyletic grouping which excludes some members of the natural group united by a suite of characters at Node 18. Thus, the traditional New Caledonian group of Rhacodactylus consists of the taxa sharing the character states present at Node 18 but lacking those at Node 20. The following characters diagnose the species of Rhacodactylus including those of the subgenus Pseudothecadactylus: Supraocular portion of frontal deeply furrowed or concave; fronto-parietal suture straight; overlap of jugal and infraorbital process of prefrontal extensive; metatarsals III and IV parallel; lateral pair of cloacal bones absent; juvenile color pattern with paravertebral rows of light-colored spots; aural opening partially occluded by skin folds; digital seansors broadly dilated: apical pads single, medial; tail with subeaudal lamellae. (5, 9, 13, 59, 62, 70, 7). Within Rhacodactylus (sensu stricto) a single resolvable subgrouping occurs (apart from those characters diagnosing Pseudothecadacty/us). Represented by Node 19 or. the cladogram this unites R. chahoua and R. ciliatus. This clade is diagnosed by the following characters: anteriormost autotomy septum in fifth caudal vertebra; webbing between digits IV and V present; folds of loose skin on face of hindlimbs. (30, 89, 90). (Bauer 1990)


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CommentSynonymy: The only known specimen of Rhacodactylus leachianus aubrianus were destroyed in 197. The description of Bocage (1873) is inadequate to assess the potential validity of this taxon. The validity of henkeli has been questioned by SEIPP (1996; thesis) and GOOD et al. (1997).

Type species: Ascalabotes leachianus Cuvier, 1829 is the type species of the genus Rhacodactylus Fitzinger, 1843.

Abundance: Widespread but not very common. Highly priced as pet, e.g. in Korea.

Caudal autotomy: Bauer & Russell surveyed autotomy in carphodactylid geckos, including Rhacodactylus.

Variation: This is a fairly variable species. See Cemelli 201 and Cemelli & Fast 201 for a series of photographs that illustrate color variation.

Distribution: see map in Bauer 1990: 175 (Fig. 82)

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
References
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  • Bauer, A.M. & Sadlier,R.A. 1993. Systematics, biogeography and conservation of the lizards of New Caledonia. Biodiv. Lett. 1: 107-122 - get paper here
  • Bauer, A.M., and Sadlier, R.A. 2001. New data on the distribution, status, and biology of the giant New Caledonian geckos (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Rhacodactylus spp.). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 2 (1): 24-29 [2000] - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M. 1995. Geckos of the genus Rhacodactylus. Reptiles 3 (7): 32-49
  • BAUER, AARON M.; TODD R. JACKMAN, ROSS A. SADLIER & ANTHONY H. WHITAKER 2012. Revision of the giant geckos of New Caledonia (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae: Rhacodactylus). Zootaxa 3404: 1–52 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M.;Russell, Anthony P. 1994. Is autotomy frequency reduced in geckos with "actively functional" tails? Herpetological Natural History 2 (2): 1-15
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