Ptenopus kochi HAACKE, 1964
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Ptenopus kochi
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Koch's Chirping Gecko, Koch’s barking gecko Afrikaans: Duin blafgeitjie |
| Synonym | Ptenopus kochi HAACKE 1964: 1 Ptenopus kochi — HAACKE 1976 Ptenopus kochi — KLUGE 1993 Ptenopus kochi — RÖSLER 2000: 107 Ptenopus kochi — MASHININI & MAHLANGU 2013 Ptenopus kochi — SCHLEICHER 2020 Ptenopus kochi — TOLLEY et al. 2024 Ptenopus kochi — BECKER et al. 2025: 290 |
| Distribution | Namibia (Gobabeb, Kuiseb River, SC Namib Desert) Type locality: Gobabeb, central Namib Desert (23°37’S, 15°03’E, 408 m), SWA (now Namibia) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: DNMNH (= TM) 28809, adult male Paratypes. TM 24993–4, collected by Charles Koch in October 1957; TM 25880–1, 25887, 25889–90, collected by Charles K. Brain in May 1959; TM 28442–6, 28448– 55, 28625–7, collected by Wulf D. Haacke in October 1963. Locality: same as holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The largest Ptenopus (SVL max. 65.1, mean 61.1, n = 23) with the longest tail (TL 83% [range 63– 96%] of SVL, n = 23), an overall plump appearance, ex- tensive toe fringes and elongated fringed scales on the fingers compared to other species. It is distinguished from all other congeners by a combination of the follow- ing characters: Body and head scales finer than other spe- cies, with MBSR 187–210 (vs. generally <200 for P. gar- rulus and <180 for other species); dorsal colour pattern (Fig. 6) finely speckled with a few somewhat enlarged cream or yellow spots (somewhat similar to P. garrulus, vs. banded in P. carpi and P. sceletus sp. nov. and large paired, oval marking in P. maculatus, P. circumsyrticus sp. nov., P. kenkenses sp. nov., and northern populations of P. adamanteus sp. nov.); the tail, fore- and hind-foot soles are completely or partially pink and unpigmented, whereas the rest of the ventrum is white (similar to P. garrulus except for the tail, vs. immaculate white in P. maculatus, P. adamanteus sp. nov., P. circumsyrticus sp. nov., and black- or dark grey-speckled in P. kenkenses sp. nov.); the yellow pigment in males is not limited to the throat, but extends over the sides of the snout, head, neck, and body (also the case in some P. garrulus). For a more detailed morphological description, see Haacke (1964, 1975, from Becker et al. 2025). Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 5047 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Distribution: for a map see Becker et al. 2025: 289 (Fig. 5). |
| Etymology | Named after Dr. Charles Koch (1894-1970), an Austrian-born entomologist. He became the first Director of the Namib Desert Research Station (1962). |
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