Pachydactylus waterbergensis BAUER & LAMB, 2003
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Pachydactylus waterbergensis
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Pachydactylus waterbergensis BAUER & LAMB 2003 Pachydactylus weberi acuminatus — MERTENS 1955: 49 (part.) Pachydactylus weberi werneri — GRIFFIN 2003: 33 (part.) Pachydactylus waterbergensis — BAUER et al. 2006 Pachydactylus waterbergensis — MASHININI & MAHLANGU 2013 Pachydactylus waterbergensis — SCHLEICHER 2020 |
| Distribution | N Namibia (Waterberg Plateau) Type locality: Onjoka Settlement, Waterberg / Plateau Park [Otjiwarongo District, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia, 20°25’S, 17°21’E]. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: NMNW (also NMWN) 6698; paratypes: TM |
| Diagnosis | DIAGNOSIS: Snout-vent length to 49.3 mm (largest female paratype); body sub-cylindrical, slightly depressed; rostral without groove; nostril surrounded by supranasal and two postnasals, rostral excluded from nostril, first supralabial excluded or narrowly entering nostril; dorsal and lateral scales tubercular, large, rounded, and conical on flanks and somewhat flatter, more elongate, and keeled on dorsum; approximately 20 somewhat irregular rows of enlarged tubercles across back to ventrolateral margins of trunk; ventral scales subimbricate, in approximately 29 rows across belly; enlarged conical tubercles present on dorsal surfaces of thigh, crus, and distal forelimb; enlarged scansorial lamellae under digit IV of pes 6; tail with whorls of enlarged tubercles dorsally; midventral subcaudal scales enlarged, arranged in row of alternating divided and undivided scales. Dorsal pattern with 5-6 more-or-less well defined cross bands (one on nape, one at forelimb insertion, 2- 3 on trunk, and one anterior to sacrum), each consisting of a thicker central pale band bordered anteriorly and posteriorly by a narrower dark band; original tail banded. |
| Comment | This species has been previously referred to P. weberi acuminatus FitzSimons. DNA sequence data reveal that this new species is more closely related to P. fasciatus Boulenger and P. tsodiloensis Haacke than to any of the recognised forms of P. weberi Roux. It is a moderately tuberculate member of the P. weberi-group sensu lato and is characterised by a dorsal pattern of 5-6 narrow pale crossbands edged with dark borders. Despite significant genetic divergence, the new species is morphologically very similar to the larger Tsodilo Hills endemic, P. tsodiloensis. Both species are highly substrate-specific, rupicolus forms and, as such, BAUER & TRIP hypothesise that they represent vicariant remnants of a widely distributed ancestor whose contiguous rocky habitat was fragmented by encroachment of the Kalahari sands. Distribution: see map in BRANCH et al. 2011. HABITAT: sandstone cliffs, boulders, or exposures. |
| Etymology | Named after the locality where the type specimens have been found. |
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