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Pachydactylus etultra BRANCH, BAUER, JACKMAN & HEINICKE, 2011

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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sossus Gecko 
SynonymPachydactylus etultra BRANCH, BAUER, JACKMAN & HEINICKE 2011
Pachydactylus etultra — LIVIGNI 2013: 281
Pachydactylus etultra — CONRADIE et al. 2019 
DistributionC/E Namibia

Type locality: Republic of Namibia, Hardap Region, Maltahöhe District, Namib-Rand Nature Reserve, Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, 24°46’45.3’’S, 15°53’17.8’’E (quarter- degree unit 2415DD), 896 m elevation  
Reproductionoviparous (manual and phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: MCZ R184980 (field no. MCZ A38619), adult female, 21 September 2006, W.R. Branch and P. Dunning. Paratypes. Nine specimens, all from same locality as holotype; MCZ R184977–79, 184981–82 (four adult females and an adult male; see Table 2), 21 September 2006, W.R. Branch, A.M. Bauer, J. Marais, & T. Jackman; PEM R17293 (hatchling), 20 April 2007, W.R. Branch; PEM R17294 (subadult), 21 April 2007, W.R. Branch; PEM R17295 (adult male) and PEM R17287 (adult female), 22 April 2007, W.R. Branch, D. Branch, & V. Swanepoel. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A dorsoventrally flattened spe- cies (Figs. 1, 2A in BRANCH et al. 2011) typical of the P. weberi complex (sensu Bauer, Lamb, and Branch, 2006), in having the rostral excluded from the nostril (Figs. 2B, C), but distinguished from all other species in the complex in lacking thigh tubercles (Fig. 2D). It can be further distinguished from members of the P. weberi complex by a combination of the following characters: rupicolous (terrestrial in P. fasciatus); the first supralabial narrowly enters the nostril (excluded in P. kobosensis) (Fig. 2C); snout rounded and nasal region moderately inflated (snout pointed and nasal region strongly inflated in P. werneri); scales on snout larger than interorbital tubercles (equal in size in P. monicae) (Fig. 2B); digits not long (digits long in P. werneri) (Fig. 2C); body slender, caudal tubercles within a tail whorl well separated (body large and robust, caudal tubercles within a tail whorl abut in P. fasciatus); size small, SVL , 45 mm (maximum SVL $ 49 mm in all other members of the complex, except P. robertsi, P. reconditus, P. monicae, P. mclachlani, and P. visseri); dorsal scalation heterogeneous (largely homogeneous in P. kobosensis), with the entire dorsum of trunk equally tubercu- late (anterior third of dorsum typically less strongly tuberculate than posterior in P. acuminatus); three body bands (including nape and sacral bands) present in juveniles (Fig. 3B) and adults, although sometimes obscured in the latter (all bands, including nape, absent in P. atorquatus; only nape band present in juveniles and adults of P. robertsi and P. reconditus; four body bands in P. werneri; and five or more body bands in P. visseri, P. tsodiloensis, and P. water- bergensis); bands narrow and straight-edged, lost or obscured in adults (body bands broad and retained in adults in P. goodi, bands broad and wavy-edged in P. weberi) [from BRANCH et al. 2011].
 
CommentDistribution: see map in BRANCH et al. 2011.

Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). 
Etymology“The specific epithet honors ‘‘&Beyond’’ (previously CC Africa), an ecotourism venture that has won many awards for the conservation of African wildlife and the upliftment of local people. The first specimen of this new species was brought to our attention by Peter Dunning, then lodge manager of the CC Africa Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge within the NamibRand Private Reserve, the area in which all specimens have been found. The name is a noun in apposition and is a literal Latin translation of ‘‘and’’ (et) ‘‘beyond’’ (ultra).” [from BRANCH et al. 2011]. 
References
  • Branch, William R.; Aaron M. Bauer, Todd R. Jackman, and Matthew Heinicke 2011. A New Species of the Pachydactylus weberi Complex (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Namibrand Reserve, Southern Namibia. Breviora (524): 1-15. - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, WERNER; WILLIAM R. BRANCH, & GILLIAN WATSON 2019. Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 2: Reptiles (Squamata). Zootaxa 4576 (1): 001–045 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • LiVigni, F. (ed.) 2013. A Life for Reptiles and Amphibians, Volume 1. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 495 pp. - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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