Gehyra vorax GIRARD, 1858
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Gehyra vorax?
Gehyra vorax
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Voracious four-clawed gecko, voracious Dtella |
| Synonym | Gehyra vorax GIRARD 1858 Gehyra vorax — BOULENGER 1885: 119 Gehyra vorax — BOULENGER 1885: 153 Gehyra oceanica — DE ROOIJ 1915 (partim) Gehyra vorax — DE ROOIJ 1915: 45 Gehyra vorax — KLUGE 1993 Gehyra vorax — RÖSLER 2000: 80 |
| Distribution | Indonesia (Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji (on the large western islands), Tonga, Society Islands, Oceania Type locality: Fiji Islands. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: USNM 5699/1, adult male (designated by FLECKS et al. 2012). Paralectotypes: USNM 5699/2 and ANSP 7455, adult females (former syntypes of G. vorax). |
| Diagnosis | |
| Comment | Distribution: Records from Norfolk Island are in error. Not on New Caledonia according to BAUER & VINDUM (1990) but on NC fide Bauer & Sadlier 2000. FLECKS et al. (2012) separated the Vanuatu populations as G. georgpotthasti; hence G. vorax does not occur on Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands. In fact, FLECKS et al. restrict G. vorax to the populations on Fiji and Tonga. Synonymy: Has been synonymized with G. oceanica by WERMUTH (1965: 35). Burt & Burt (1932) synonymised G. vorax with G. oceanica based on the presumably shared presence of dermal folds on the forelimb, which previously was considered as a major diagnostic feature of G. vorax (Boulenger 1885; de rooij 1915). Still, most subsequent authors tentatively treated G. vorax as a separate taxon, mainly due to its much larger size compared to G. oceanica (e.g., Mertens 1974, Bauer & Sadlier 2000) and the fact that both forms often occur in sympatry (Zweifel 1980; Gibbons & Clunie 1984). Beckon (1992) showed that G. vorax is clearly distinct from G. oceanica by several morphologic characters and molecular phylogenetics suggest a closer relationship of G. oceanica with species from Southeast Asia, new Guinea and Micronesia (Sistrom et al. 2009; Oliver et al. 2010; Heinicke et al. 2011, Flecks et al. 2012). Description: de Rooij 1915: 45. Morphology: Three different morphotypes of G. vorax have been defined: a Fiji- morphotype, a Vanuatu-morphotype and a new Guinea-morphotype (Beckon 1992). The latter contains both G. marginata and G. membranacruralis, leading Beckon to synonymise these two species with G. vorax. Giant Gehyra from Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands have been assigned to G. vorax (e.g., Boulenger 1885; Roux 1913; Sadlier & Bauer 1997) or more precisely, to the Vanuatu-morphotype (Beckon 1992). Flecks et al. (2012) provide morphological and genetic evidence that this Vanuatu-morphotype of G. vorax is a distinct species and discuss human translocation of this new species to Polynesia. |
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