Urocotyledon inexpectata (STEJNEGER, 1893)

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Higher Taxa	Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Seychelles Surprise Gecko
Synonym	Diplodactylus inexpectatus STEJNEGER 1893: 714 Diplodactylus inexpectatus — LOVERIDGE 1947: 251 Phyllodactylus inexpectatus — WERMUTH 1965: 137 Urocotyledon inexpectata — KLUGE 1993 Urocotyledon inexpectata — RÖSLER 2000: 119
Distribution	Seychelles (Mahe, Praslin, Central Islands) Type locality: Mahé Island, Seychelles.
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: USNM 20433
Diagnosis	Diagnosis (genus): Urocotyledon species are midsized geckos, ranging in size from approximately 40–60 mm in adult SVL. Urocotyledon species are moderate in body form, with notably wide heads. As in all gekkonids, eyelids do not function. The typical color pattern is mottled, with grays, reds, or tans represented. Species of Urocotyledon are distinguished from other geckos by the following combination of characteristics: hyoid without second ceratobranchial cartilages; 14 scleral ossicles; stapedial foramen absent; frontal single and parietal paired; cloacal bones present; phalangeal formula 2-3-4-5-3/2-3-4-5-4 (manus/pes); paraphalangeal elements absent; eye with vertical pupil, with notched margins; digits free, with a single pair of dilated adhesive pads at tips; retractable claws present; dorsal scalation relatively uniform, small granules; preanal pores absent; tail cylindrical, tapering, with adhesive papillae at tip; females lay two hard-shelled eggs (Loveridge 1947, Kluge 1967, 1987, Kluge and Nussbaum 1995, Russell and Bauer 2008).
Comment	Type species: Diplodactylus inexpectatus STEJNEGER 1893: 714 is the type species of the genus Urocotyledon KLUGE 1983: 472.
References	Gardner, A.S. 1985. An identification key to the geckos of the Seychelles, with brief notes on their distributions and habits. The Herpetological Journal 1 (1): 17-19. - get paper here Kluge, A.G. 1983. Cladistic relationships among gekkonid lizards. Copeia 1983 (2): 465-475 - get paper here Loveridge, A. 1947. Revision of the African lizards of the family Gekkondiae. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 98: 1-469 - get paper here PAWLOWSKI, S. 2022. Remarks on the habitat and biology of the Gecko Urocotyledon inexpectata (Stejneger, 1893) on the Inner Seychelles Islands. Sauria 44 (1): 3-8 - get paper here Rösler, H. 2000. Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha). Gekkota 2: 28-153 Stejneger, L. 1893. On some collections of reptiles and batrachians from East Africa and the adjacent islands, recently received from Dr. W. L. Abbott and Mr. William Astor Chanler, with descriptions of new species. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 16: 711-741 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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