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Lygodactylus verticillatus MOCQUARD, 1895

IUCN Red List - Lygodactylus verticillatus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mocquard's Dwarf Gecko 
SynonymLygodactylus verticillatus MOCQUARD 1895
Lygodactylus verticillatus — KLUGE 1993
Lygodactylus verticillatus — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 282
Lygodactylus (Lygodactylus) verticillatus — RÖSLER 2000: 95
Lygodactylus verticillatus — PUENTE et al. 2009: 57
Lygodactylus verticillatus — RÖLL et al. 2010
Lygodactylus verticillatus — GIPPNER et al. 2021 
DistributionMadagascar, Europa Island

Type locality: Madagascar  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: MNHN-RA 1895.0158-0159 (West coast of Madagascar) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Lygodactylus verticillatus is a widespread species from the South of Madagascar, characterized as a member of the L. verticillatus group as defined above by its clearly whorled tail. It differs from other species of the group as follows: from L. heterurus and L. klemmeri by the absence (vs. presence) of distinct longitudinal black lines on the throat; from L. arnoulti and L. blanci by smaller body size (mean SVL 23.1 mm vs. 30.2 and 30.3 mm); from L. arnoulti further by a different dorsal colouration (no clearly defined pattern with a tendency to a longitudinal striation, vs. grey with indistinct ocellae or distinct black transversal lines or markings). Lygodactylus verticillatus is, by external characters, probably most similar to L. decaryi, but that species is characterized by having 15 preanal pores (vs. 9–11 in L. verticillatus). (PUENTE et al. 2009) 
CommentHabitat. According to Pasteur (1977), this species occurs in dry forest, on houses, fences and trunks. Puente et al. 2009 observed specimens of L. verticillatus on isolated trees and shrubs in semi-arid areas, found on trees and fences in towns.

Karyotype: see Mezzasalma et al. 2016. 
Etymologynamed (by implication from the original description) after the whorled tail of the species. 
References
  • Castiglia, Riccardo and Flavia Annesi 2011. The phylogenetic position of Lygodactylus angularis and the utility of using the 16S rDNA gene for delimiting species in Lygodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae). Acta Herpetologica 6 (1): 35-45 - get paper here
  • Gippner, Sven, Scott L Travers, Mark D Scherz, Timothy J Colston, Mariana L Lyra, Ashwini V Mohan, Malte Multzsch, Stuart V. Nielsen, Loïs Rancilhac, Frank Glaw, Aaron M. Bauer, Miguel Vences 2021. A Comprehensive Phylogeny of Dwarf Geckos of the Genus Lygodactylus, with Insights into Their Systematics and Morphological Variation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 107311 - get paper here
  • Glaw ,F. & Vences, M. 1994. A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Vences & Glaw Verlag, Köln (ISBN 3-929449-01-3)
  • Krüger, Jens 2001. Die madagassischen Gekkoniden. Teil II: Die Geckos der Gattung Lygodactylus GRAY 1864 (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae). Gekkota 3: 3-28
  • Mezzasalma M., Andreone F., Aprea G., Glaw F., Odierna G., Guarino F. M. 2016. Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and chromosome evolution of Malagasy dwarf geckos of the genus Lygodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae). Zoologica Scripta 46: 42–54, DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12188 - get paper here
  • Mocquard, F. 1895. Sur les reptiles recueillis a Madagascar de 1867 a 1885 par M. Grandidier. Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris, 7: 93-111 - get paper here
  • PUENTE, MARTA; FRANK GLAW, DAVID R. VIEITES & MIGUEL VENCES 2009. Review of the systematics, morphology and distribution of Malagasy dwarf geckos, genera Lygodactylus and Microscalabotes (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Zootaxa 2103: 1-76 - get paper here
  • Röll, B. 2004. Tagaktive Zwerggeckos aus Afrika und Madagaskar: die Gattung Lygodactylus. Draco 5 (18): 18-27 - get paper here
  • Röll, B. 2013. Tagaktive Zwerggeckos der Gattung Lygodactylus - Lebensweise - Haltung - Nachzucht. Natur und Tier Verlag, 118 pp. - get paper here
  • Röll, B. 2018. Tagaktive, kleine Geckos – die Gattung Lygodactylus. Reptilia 23 (132): 16-23
  • RÖLL, B., SANCHEZ, M., GIPPNER, S., BAUER, A. M., TRAVERS, S. L., GLAW, F., ... & VENCES, M. 2023. Phylogeny of dwarf geckos of the genus Lygodactylus (Gekkonidae) in the Western Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 5311 (2): 232-250 - get paper here
  • Röll, Beate; Heike Pröhl, Klaus-Peter Hoffmann 2010. Multigene phylogenetic analysis of Lygodactylus dwarf geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56 (1): 327-335 - get paper here
  • Rösler, H. 2000. Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha). Gekkota 2: 28-153
  • SANCHEZ, Mickaël & Jean-Michel PROBST 2015. L’herpétofaune terrestre de l’île d’Europa (Océan Indien, Canal du Mozambique) : synthèse des connaissances et nouvelles données sur la répartition et l’écologie des espèces en vue de leur conservation. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 156: 63-76
  • Sanchez, Mickaël; Arthur Choeur, Florent Bignon, and Alexandre Laubin 2019. Reptiles of the Iles Eparses, Indian Ocean: Inventory, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Herp. Conserv. Biology 14 (2): - get paper here
 
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