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Pristurus ornithocephalus ARNOLD, 1986

IUCN Red List - Pristurus ornithocephalus - Least Concern, LC

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Higher TaxaSphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Birdhead Rock Gecko 
SynonymPristurus ornithocephalus ARNOLD 1986: 371
Pristurus ornithocephalus — KLUGE 1993
Pristurus ornithocephalus — RÖSLER 1995: 169
Pristurus ornithocephalus — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 
DistributionYemen

Type locality: Haura (= Al Hawrah), 13°49'N 47°35'E, coast of South Yemen.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1953.1.6.80, male (listed as Pristurus carteri collaris non-type in BMNH as of March 2019). Paratypes: BMNH 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A medium-sized member ofthe Pristurus carteri group (up to 54 mm from snout to vent, but usually less); snout elongated and nearly always acutely pointed; mental markedly shorter than rostral and the lips turned downwards anteriorly in nearly all cases; axillary mite pockets very small or absent; 10-11 lamellae under first hind toe, 18 to 23 beneath fourth. Tailless than 90% of snout-vent distance, its upper crest not strongly heterogeneous and the tip bluntly pointed; autotomy and regenera- tion usually taking place only at the base. Large grey spots not usually present on sides of throat; dark collar across throat weak and interrupted on the mid-line or absent; five or six dark areas, which may be divided, on back from neck to vent, usually none on mid-line at level of forelegs and three or four between the two pairs of limbs. Supraoccipital area of the skull approaching the vertical [ARNOLD 1986]. 
Comment 
Etymologynamed after Greek “ornis” (= bird) and “kephales” (= head), in reference to the sharp beak-like snout of this species. 
References
  • Arnold E N 1986. New species of semaphore gecko (Pristurus: Gekkonidae) from Arabia and Socotra. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 8: 352-377
  • Arnold, E.N. 2009. Relationships, evolution and biogeography of Semaphore geckos, Pristurus (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) based on morphology. Zootaxa 2060: 1-21 - get paper here
  • Rösler, H.; Köhler, J. & Böhme, W. 2008. A new species of the diurnal gekkonid genus Pristurus Rüppell, 1835 from the Red Sea island Hanish al-Kabir, Yemen. Amphibia-Reptilia 29: 217-227 - get paper here
  • Rösler, Herbert 1995. Geckos der Welt - Alle Gattungen. Urania, Leipzig, 256 pp.
  • Schätti, B. & Gasperetti, J. 1994. A contribution to the herpetofauna of Southwest Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 14: 348-423
  • Sindaco, R. & Jeremcenko, V.K. 2008. The reptiles of the Western Palearctic. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), 579 pp. - get paper here
 
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