Pristurus flavipunctatus RÜPPELL, 1835
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Pristurus flavipunctatus
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Rüppell’s Semaphore Gecko, Middle Eastern Rock Gecko |
| Synonym | Pristurus flavipunctatus RÜPPELL 1835 Gymnodactylus flavipunctatus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 417 Pristurus flavipunctatus — BOULENGER 1885: 52 Pristurus percristatus BOULENGER 1896 (fide LOVERIDGE 1947) Pristurus percristatus — SCORTECCI 1929: 312 Pristurus percristatus — PARKER 1932: 347 Pristurus flavipunctatus — PARKER 1932: 347 Pristurus percristatus pseudoflavipunctatus SCORTECCI 1933 (fide LOV. 1947) Pristurus flavipunctatus — LOVERIDGE 1947: 77 Pristurus flavipunctatus flavipunctatus — HAAS 1951 Pristurus gasperetti ARNOLD 1986 (fide SCHÄTTI & GASPERETTI 1994) Pristurus gasperetti — KLUGE 1993 Pristurus flavipunctatus — KLUGE 1993 Pristurus flavipunctatus — RÖSLER 2000: 106 Pristurus gasperetti — RÖSLER 2000: 106 Pristurus flavipunctatus — LARGEN & SPAWLS 2010: 331 Pristurus flavipunctatus — RÖSLER 2018: 5 |
| Distribution | E Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia (incl. Farasan Islands), Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS) (Neberet Valley), Eritrea (Ghinda and Emberemi), Jordan (Sandstone Hills) Type locality: Massaua, Abessinien. gasperetti (invalid): was described from W Saudi-Arabia (Wadi Kharrar near Makkah); Type locality: Wadi Kharrar, near Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 21° 17'30"N 40° 06'30"E, 460 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous; soem species of Pristurus were shown to have sperm storage (Rösler & Kaiser 2018) |
| Types | Lectotype: SMF 8245 (formerly 4052a), paralectotypes: BMNH 1946.8.20.31-42; paratype: MSNM Holotype: BMNH 1986.206, male; Paratypes: BMNH [gasperetti] Lectotype: MSNM (Milano) [pseudoflavipunctatus] Synypes: MSNTO R2512, UMMZ [percristatus] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): dorsal process of premaxilla relatively long, nasal bones short, extent of prefrontal bone in anterior wall of orbit reduced medially*; supratemporal process of parietal bone often expanded and fully attached to exoccipital*, squamosal often short and curved*; palatine contacting vomer narrowly*, superficial posterior margin of dentary bone not obviously tridentate, the lower spur extending far backwards*. Twenty-five or fewer presacral vertebrae; toes with primitive number of phalanges (manus – 2.3.4.5.3; pes – 2.3.4.5.4); post-cloacal bones absent. Meatal closure muscle absent; anterior nuchal muscle originating mainly on second vertebra*; pectoralis muscles on each side crossing midline*, toes without complex internal musculature. Pupil approximately round with posteroventral quadrant of border less convex, or pupil vertically elliptical with un-notched borders; dorsal scaling consisting of small granules, nearly always without larger tubercles on body; preanal and femoral pores absent, cloacal tubercles and postcloacal sacs absent; toes simple without expanded adhesive pads beneath; tail strongly compressed laterally in males*, not or less so in females; in one species (P. celerrimus) an area of dark rugose scales in preanal region of males; flanks often with longitudinal series of short dark or reddish streaks separated by pale spots*. Largely diurnal and usually heliothermic; tail often raised and moved during intraspecific signalling*; voice little used [*Asterisks indicate features that are apparently largely or wholly confined to Pristurus among the Sphaerodactylidae. Gekkonidae and Phyllodactylidae; from ARNOLD 2009]. |
| Comment | Type species: Pristurus flavipunctatus RÜPPELL 1835 is the type species of the genus Pristurus RÜPPELL 1835. Key to species: Loveridge 1947: 72. Subspecies: Pristurus gasperetti gallagheri ARNOLD 1986 has been elevated to full species. Habitat: Pristurus has ground, tree, and rock dwellers. Body size evolution in relation to habitat and island forms in Pristurus was studied by Tejero-Cicuéndez et al. 2021. |
| Etymology | Named after the yellow spots characteristic for this species from Latin “flavus” = yellow. P. gasperetti was named after John Gasperetti (1920-2001), engineer and surveyor of various companies and governments in the Middle East and Field Associate of the Department of Herpetology of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. |
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