Uroplatus fimbriatus (SCHNEIDER, 1797)
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Uroplatus fimbriatus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Common Flat-tail Gecko G: Plattschwanzgecko |
| Synonym | Cordylus Caudiuerbera — MEYER 1795: 18 Stellio fimbriatus SCHNEIDER 1797: 32 ? Stellio tetradactylus SCHNEIDER 1797 (fide BOULENGER 1885) ? Gecko sarroubea DAUDIN 1802: 176 (fide BOULENGER 1885) Gecko caudiverbera — MERREM 1820 (see note) Rhacoessa hypoxantha WAGLER 1833 (nom. subst.) Chiroperus sarrube WIEGMANN 1834: 20 (nom. subst. pro G. tetradactylus) Ptyodactylus fimbriatus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 381 Ptyodactylus Feuillaei — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 386 (?) Uroplates fimbriatus — BOULENGER 1885: 237 Uroplates fimbriatus lichenius ROTHSCHILD 1903 (fide ANGEL 1942) Uroplatus fimbriatus — ANGEL 1942: 12 Uroplatus fimbriatus — WERMUTH 1965: 186 Uroplatus fimbriatus — KLUGE 1993 Uroplatus fimbriatus — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 270 Uroplatus aff. fimbriatus — GEHRING & KUBIK 2005 |
| Distribution | N/C Madagascar, Nossi Be = Nosy Bé (?), Mangabe, Saint Marie Type locality: Madagascar. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Neotype: ZFMK 36503, designated by BAUER & RUSSELL. 1989. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Uroplatus species are large to immense geckos, ranging from about 68–190 mm in adult maximum SVL. The build is medium, with fairly slender limbs and a somewhat depressed body form and a large, triangular, depressed head. As in all gekkonids, eyelids do not function. Uroplatus species are generally extremely cryptic in coloration, usually gray or brown with various pattern elements which may resemble lichens or bark. Uroplatus can be distinguished from other geckos by the following combination of characteristics: hyoid without second ceratobranchial cartilages; 15 scleral ossicles; stapedial foramen absent; frontal single; parietal paired; cloacal bones present; phalangeal formula 2-3-4-5-3/2-3-4-5-4 (manus/pes); Uroplatus-type paraphalangeal elements present; eye with vertical pupil having notched margins; digits free, dilated, bearing fan-like, divided adhesive lamellae; claws present, housed in sheath; dorsal scalation consists of small, juxtaposed granules or tubercles; preanal pores absent; cutaneous flaps or fringes present on margins of jaw, body, limbs, and tail; tail depressed, short, leaf-shaped; females lay two hard-shelled eggs (Kluge 1967, Russell and Bauer 2008, Bauer and Russell 1989). |
| Comment | Kluge 1993 gives the author as SCHNEIDER 1792. Distribution: Not listed for Nossi Be by ANDREONE et al. 2003. One of the biggest geckos (reaching 300 mm or more). Illustrations: GLAW et al. (2006) reproduced the plate from WAGLER 1833 (Rhacoessa hypoxantha) and the plate from ROTHSCHILD 1903 (Uroplates fimbriatus lichenius). Type species: Stellio fimbriatus SCHNEIDER 1797 is the type species of the genus Uroplatus DUMÉRIL 1805 (Zool. analyt., p. 80, fide WERMUTH 1965). BOULENGER (1885: 236) mentions a gecko that appears to be “mythical”. He gives its synonymy as follows (with years added here): Lacerta caudiverbera LINNAEUS 1758: 359 Caudiverbera peruviana — LAURENTI 1768, Syst. Amph.: 43, GRAY Cat: 152 Gecko cristatus — DAUDIN 1802, Rept. iv: 167 Gecko caudiverbera — MERREM 1820: 40 Ptyodactylus feuillaei — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 386 Oiacurus feuillaei — FITZINGER 1843: 97 |
| Etymology | The generic name, Uroplatus, is a Latinization of two Greek words: "ourá" (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and "platys" (πλατύς) meaning "flat". Its specific name fimbriatus is the Latin word for "fringed" based upon the gecko's unique appearance of fringed skin. |
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