Nactus heteronotus (BOULENGER, 1885)

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Higher Taxa	Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Central Savanna Slender-toed Gecko E: Papuan Slender-toed Gecko [papua]
Synonym	Gymnodactylus heteronotus BOULENGER 1885: 41 Nactus heteronotus — ZUG 2020: 65 Nactus papua ZUG 2020: 67
Distribution	Papua New Guinea (coastal savannas of the Central Province and the National Capital Province) Type locality: “Hall Sound” papua: S Papua New Guinea (from Kerema west to the Kikori River); Type locality: Papua New Guinea, Gulf Province, Uraru [6°53′37′′S 144°52′30′′E].
Reproduction	Nactus pelagicus is a composite of unisexual [parthenogenetic] and bisexual populations. Note however that Zug and Moon (1995) recognized Nactus pelagicus as the asexual species for the populations in southern Vanuatu and elsewhere in Oceania, and N. multicarinatus for the bisexual species from Vanuatu and the southern Solomon Islands.
Types	Holotype. AMS R31934 Holotype. CAS 118023, adult male, collected by Fred Parker on 1 October 1967 (Figure 33). Paratypes. Adult male, CAS 118032, with same data as holotype, and adult females, MCZ 101622, 101626, USNM 192414–415, with same data as the holotype except 2 October 1967. [papua]
Diagnosis	Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3855 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Synonymy: this species has been considered as a synonym of N. pelagicus for most of recent history until it was revalidated by Zug 2020. Oliver et al. 2024 synonymized Zug’s N. papua with N. heteronotus. Distribution: see map in Zug 2020: 67 (Fig. 32) [papua]
Etymology	Boulenger did not explain his choice of heteronotus as a replacement name, presumably different dorsal trunk scales from the Greek heteros (“other,” “different”) and notos (“back”).
References	Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. Geckonidae, Eublepharidae, Uroplatidae, Pygopodidae, Agamidae. London: 450 pp. - get paper here Oliver, Paul M.; Fred Kraus; Christopher C. Austin; Leonardo G. Tedeschi; Aurora R. O’Brien; Simon T. Maddock 2024. Lineage diversity in a Melanesian lizard radiation (Gekkonidae: Nactus) further highlights exceptional diversity and endemism in eastern Papua New Guinea Organisms Diversity & Evolution - get paper here Zug, George R. 2020. Diversity in Pacific Slender-Toed Geckos, Nactus pelagicus Complex (Reptilia: Squamata), of New Guinea and Adjacent Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, (651): x + 92 pages - get paper here
External links	Google images

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