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Hemidactylus lankae DERANIYAGALA, 1953

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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sri Lanka Leaf-toed Gecko 
SynonymHemidactylus triedrus lankae DERANIYAGALA 1953
Hemidactylus triedrus lankae — ZIESMANN et al. 2007
Hemidactylus triedrus lankae — SOMAWEERA & SOMAWEERA 2009
Hemidactylus lankae — BAUER et al. 2010
Hemidactylus lankae — MIRZA et al. 2018 (nomen dubium) 
DistributionSri Lanka

Type locality: Ceylon.  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: NMSL (probably lost fide Amarasinghe et al. 2009) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (lankae): Deraniyagala (1953) distinguished “lankae” in bearing 13–19 precloacal femoral pores on each side separated by three non-pored scales based on a series of nine specimens vs. 6–14 in the Indian nominate form (Deraniyagala, 1953). The male holotype in the Colombo National Museum described by Deraniyagala (1953) possesses 19/18 pores, which raises doubts if it is allied to H. triedrus, as a review of literature and examination of museum material representing “H. triedrus” from Sri Lanka show that the specimens possess 7–9 pores on each side as seen in the type of H. triedrus (Daudin, 1802; Somaweera & Somaweera, 2009; Batuwita & Pethiyagoda, 2012). It is likely that the type series of H. lankae comprised of multiple species that did not include representatives of H. triedrus as the specimens possess femoral pores >13.


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CommentSynonymy: MIRZA et al. 2018 considered H. lankae a nomen dubium given that the types are lost and the original description is inadequate in diagnosing the taxon.

See also literature cited under Hemidactylus triedrus. 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. 
References
  • Amarasinghe, A. A. T., A. M. Bauer, I. Ineich, J. Rudge, M. M. Bahir & D. E. Gabadage 2009. The original descriptions and figures of Sri Lankan gekkonid lizards (Squamata: Gekkonidae) of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Taprobanica 1 (2): 83-106 - get paper here
  • Batuwita, Sudesh; & Rohan Pethiyagoda 2012. Rediscovery of the Sri Lankan ‘house gecko’ Hemidactylus pieresii Kelaart (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) with a redescription of Hemidactylus depressus Gray. Zootaxa 3359: 17–30 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Todd R. Jackman, Eli Greenbaum, Varad B. Giri, Anslem de Silva 2010. South Asia supports a major endemic radiation of Hemidactylus geckos. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57 (1): 343-352 - get paper here
  • Das, Indraneil & Abhijit Das 2017. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Reptiles of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 176 pp.
  • Deraniyagala, P.E.P. 1953. A coloured atlas of some vertebrates from Ceylon. Vol. 2. Tetrapod Reptilia. Govt. Press, Colombo, 101 pp.
  • Karunarathna, Suranjan D. M. S. and A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe 2011. A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE REPTILE FAUNA IN NILGALA FOREST AND ITS VICINITY, MONARAGALA DISTRICT, SRI LANKA. Taprobanica 3 (2): 69-76 - get paper here
  • Madawala, Majintha; Thilina D Surasinghe, Anslem De Silva, Dinesh Gabadage, Madhava Botejue, Indika Peabotuwage, Dushantha Kandambi, Suranjan Karunarathna 2019. Reappraisal of Herpetofauna Recorded from Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka with Remarks on Conservation, Diversity, and Distribution. Russ. J. Herpetol. 26 (5): 247-260 - get paper here
  • Mirza ZA, Gowande GG, Patil R, Ambekar M, Patel H. 2018. First appearance deceives many: disentangling the Hemidactylus triedrus species complex using an integrated approach. PeerJ 6:e5341 - get paper here
  • Wickramasinghe, Mendis & Ruchira Somaweera 2002. Distribution and Current Status of the Endemic Geckos of Sri Lanka. Gekko 3 (1): 2-13
  • Wickramasinghe, Mendis and Ruchira Somaweera. 2008. Changes in the distribution ranges of the Sri Lankan Hemidactylus species. Gekko 5 (2): 44-60
  • Ziesmann, S.; Janzen, P. & Klaas, P. 2007. Die Vielfalt der Geckos [Sri Lankas]. Draco 7 (30): 38-44 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
  • Zwanzig, Bernd-Michael & Wolfgang Grossmann 2013. Halbfingergeckos: Hemidactylus. Die verkannte Gattung. Terraria-Elaphe 2013 (2): 14-27 - get paper here
 
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