Gonatodes lichenosus ROJAS-RUNJAIC, INFANTE-RIVERO, CABELLO & VELOZO, 2010
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Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Perijá Lichen-Gecko S: Tuqueque Liquenoso de Perija |
Synonym | Gonatodes lichenosus ROJAS-RUNJAIC, INFANTE-RIVERO, CABELLO & VELOZO 2010 |
Distribution | Venezuela (Zulia) Type locality: Manastara, Yukpa indigenous community, Río Negro basin, Parque Nacional Sierra de Perijá, Municipio Machiques de Perijá, Sierra de Perijá, Estado Zulia, Venezuela (10°02’52.0”N, 72°48’42.8”W; elevation 1132 m asl), |
Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
Types | Holotype: MHNLS 19116, adult male (field number SP191), collected on 18 March 2009, by Fernando J. M. Rojas-Runjaic, Pedro Cabello, and Pablo Velozo. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species can be readily distinguished from all congeners by the combination of the following characters: (1) body size moderate, with males from 39.05 to 41.4 mm, and females from 40.65 to 44.45 mm; (2) supraciliary spine absent; (3) dorsolateral light spots that coincide with clusters of enlarged, conical to spinelike scales; (4) 100 to 106 scales around midbody; (5) 42 to 45 ventral scales counted in a longitudinal row; (6) males with escutcheon area on belly and undersurface of thighs; (7) two lateral rows of scales on distal parts of fingers and toes; (8) ventral surface of tail with a pattern of scales consisting of two to four basal series of single midventral scales in contact posterolaterally on each side with one scale followed by a divided midventral scale in contact with two scales per side (1’2”), and continuing distally with repetitive series of single midventral scale in contact posterolaterally with one scale per side and single midventral in contact with two scales per side (1’1”); (9) males and females with cryptic coloration pattern dorsally, and yellow to ocher ventrally, without sexual dichromatism. Additional details (2561 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Behavior: mainly diurnal Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). |
Etymology | The specific epithet lichenosus is a Latin adjective (masculine) derived from “lichen” (Latin name for composite organisms made up from symbiotic association of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner algae or cyanobacteria) + -osus (an adjectival suffix meaning “full of”). The name was given in allusion to the aspect of the dorsal color pattern (particularly on the head) of this species that resembles the complex color designs of lichens covering the bark of trees and rock surfaces in environments with high humidity. |
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