Paroedura manongavato PICCOLI, BELLUARDO, LOBÓN-ROVIRA, OLIVEIRA ALVES, RASOAZANANY, ANDREONE, ROSA & CROTTINI, 2023
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Paroedura manongavato
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Paroedura manongavato PICCOLI, BELLUARDO, LOBÓN-ROVIRA, OLIVEIRA ALVES, RASOAZANANY, ANDREONE, ROSA & CROTTINI 2023 |
| Distribution | Madagascar (Fianarantsoa) Type locality. Anja Reserve, 21.85098°S, 46.84270°E, elevation ca. 950 m a.s.l., Ambalavao, Fianarantsoa District, Haute Matsiatra Region, Madagascar. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 9/2023 (ACZCV 0300; ACZC6935; ACP2761), adult female from Anja Reserve, 21.85098°S, 46.84270°E, elevation ca. 950 m a.s.l., Ambalavao, Fianarantsoa District, Haute Matsiatra Region, Madagascar, collected on the 27 November 2014 by Franco Andreone, Angelica Crottini and Gonçalo M. Rosa. Paratypes. UADBA R-uncatalogued (ACZCV 0528; ACZC10442; ACP4725), undetermined individual collected at Anja Reserve, 21.85223°S, 46.84404°E, elevation ca. 970 m a.s.l., on the 15 November 2018, by Francesco Belluardo, Javier Lobón-Rovira and Gonçalo M. Rosa; UADBA R-uncatalogued (ACZCV 0777; ACZC10941; ACP4991), juvenile individual collected at Tsaranoro Valley, Forêt Sacrée, 22.08491°S, 46.77545°E, elevation ca. 945 m a.s.l., on the 16 December 2018, by Francesco Belluardo, Javier Lobón-Rovira and Malalatiana Rasoazanany; and UADBA R-uncatalogued (ACZCV 0782; ACZC10953; ACP4998), female individual collected in Tsaranoro Valley, Forêt Sacrée, 22.08530°S, 46.77589°E, elevation ca. 955 m a.s.l., on the 16 December 2018, by Francesco Belluardo, Javier Lobón-Rovira and Malalatiana Rasoazanany. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Paroedura manongavato sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other species in the Paroedura genus by the presence of three broad light cross-bands on the dorsum in juveniles (the first one between forelimbs, the second one at mid-body and the third one between hind limbs) versus four light cross-bands in all other species, with exception of the members of the P. bastardi clade and P. oviceps. Juvenile colouration in P. vahiny is not known. It can be distinguished from P. gracilis by absence (versus presence) of a white tip on the original tail, absence (versus presence) of a raised vertebral ridge on the dorsum and shorter forelimbs, which do not extend forward beyond tip of snout (versus exceeding the snout); from P. masobe by smaller (versus distinctively large) eyes and absence (versus presence) of a dorsal row of paired spines on the original tail; from P. fasciata, P. homalorhina, P. hordiesi, P. vahiny and P. spelaea by the presence of spines on the original tail (versus absence); from P. gracilis, P. homalorhina, P. kloki, P. maingoka, P. masobe, P. oviceps (from its type locality Nosy Be), P. picta, P. spelaea, most P. tanjaka individuals and P. vahiny by the presence of prominent dorsal tubercles arranged in regular longitudinal rows (versus rather irregular rows of dorsal tubercles). Within the Paroedura bastardi clade, P. manongavato sp. nov. is characterised by the unique combination of the following characters: (1) presence of prominent dorsal-enlarged keeled scales arranged in regular longitudinal rows, (2) presence of three broad light crossbands on the dorsum in juveniles (unknown in sub-adults), (3) presence of spines on the original tail, (4) nostrils separated from rostral scale by prenasals, (5) presence of a curly-bracket-shaped marking in the occipital region, (6) mediodorsal scale rows of the snout tip forming two rows of enlarged scales separated by a third median row (SnoutS, state “s”, sensu Miralles et al. (2021)), (7) prenasal scales separated by two scales in contact with rostral, (8) minimum of six interorbital scales separating the eyes, (9) 30– 34 dorsal enlarged keeled scales from the middle tip of the nuchal curly-bracket to the base of the tail in adults, (10) minimum of 19 transversal dorsal-enlarged keeled scales at mid-body in adults, (11) body dorsally brown with ochre patches organised into crossbands bordered by a thin dark brown line in adults, (12) uniform colouration of toes, (13) absence of concave anterior edge in the “butterfly” pattern (sensu Miralles et al. (2021)) on the head in both juveniles and adults, (14) presence of central vacuity in the light patch on the head in both juveniles and adults and (15) body size (SVL = 68.3–73 mm). Paroedura manongavato sp. nov. differs from P. neglecta and P. tanjaka by having the nostrils separated from the rostral scale by prenasals (versus nostrils in contact with the rostral); from P. guibeae by the presence of a curly-bracketshaped marking in the occipital region (versus absence), by uniform colouration of toes (versus striped/bicolour toes), by mediodorsal scale rows of the snout tip forming two rows of enlarged scales separated by a third median row (versus mostly forming two rows of scales in contact; SnoutS, state “c”, sensu Miralles et al. (2021)) and by a larger adult body size (SVL > 68.3 mm versus SVL < 60 mm); from P. ibityensis by a larger adult body size (SVL > 68.3 mm versus SVL < 61 mm); from P. bastardi by the presence of a curly-bracket-shaped marking in the occipital region (versus absence) and by the absence of concave anterior edge in the “butterfly” pattern on the head in both juveniles and adults (versus presence only in juveniles). Paroedura manongavato sp. nov. differs from P. rennerae, with which it is found in sympatry in Anja and Tsaranoro, by having the mediodorsal scale rows of the snout tip forming two rows of enlarged granules separated by a third median row (versus mostly forming two rows of scales in contact), by having prenasal scales separated by two scales (versus one scale), by a minimum of six interorbital scales separating the eyes (versus a maximum of five interorbital scales separating the eyes), by 30–34 dorsal-enlarged keeled scales from the middle tip of the nuchal curly-bracket to the base of the tail in adults (versus 29–31), by a minimum of 19 transversal dorsal-enlarged keeled scales at mid-body in adults (versus 15–17), by a body dorsally brown with ochre patches organised into crossbands bordered by a thin dark brown line in adults (versus a thick blackish line), by presence of a central vacuity in the “butterfly” pattern on the head in juveniles and adults (versus absence) and by having a smaller body size (SVL 68.3–73 mm versus SVL 73.6–80.9 mm). Despite an overall less spiky appearance of the dorsal body, Paroedura manongavato sp. nov. has a distinctly spikier regenerated tail than P. rennerae (Fig. 7). This trait, together with the dorsal colouration, seems to be the easiest way to differentiate these two species, when found in sympatry. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is a noun in apposition to the genus name, derived from the Malagasy words “manonga” (ma-noon-ga) meaning “to climb”, and “vato” (va-too) meaning “rock”, because the species dwells on large granitic boulders. Additionally, the name evokes rock climbing, as the area, especially around Tsaranoro, has many well-known sites for this sport. |
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