Saurodactylus brosseti BONS & PASTEUR, 1957
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Saurodactylus brosseti
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Morocco Lizard-fingered Gecko |
| Synonym | Saurodactylus mauritanicus brosseti BONS & PASTEUR 1957: 178 Saurodactylus fasciatus brosseti — ARNOLD 1993 Saurodactylus (mauritanicus) brosseti — SCHLEICH et al. 1996: 255 Saurodactylus brosseti — GENIEZ et al. 2004 Saurodactylus brosseti — RATO & HARRIS 2008 Saurodactylus brosseti — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 Saurodactylus brosseti — WILMS 2009 Saurodactylus mauritanicus brosseti — LEPTIEN 2009 Saurodactylus brosseti — TRAPE, CHIRIO & TRAPE 2012 |
| Distribution | W Morocco Type locality: Wadi Souss, SW Morocco |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 1959.0020 (Bons & Pasteur 1957 state that the type is currently in the collection of the authors but they donated it to MNHN collections later). Javanmardi et al. 2019 state that MNHN-RA-1990-1378 is (most likely) the holotype and designated it as lectotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: [this re-diagnosis differs from the original diagnosis of S. brosseti by Bons & Pasteur (1957), whose type series was composite and thus also included characters of the southern clade]. This species has a variable dorsal color, beige to dark brown. It differs from all other species in the S. brosseti complex by not exhibiting large white or yellow spots on the back; spots are minute or absent. The tail is typically covered with irregular yellow spots on a brownish surface. A white v-shaped line is usually present on the top of the head, but not extending to the neck. Nasal shields usually touch each other, whereas they are separated by two small scales in S. harrisi. Nasals are sepa- rated from labials by two slender plates. |
| Comment | S. brosseti shows 4 genetic lineages, but there are no discriminant morphological characters allowing the diagnosis and the identification of the four main lineages. Thus, S. brosseti can therefore be considered a complex of cryptic species or at least 4 independent Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs) sensu Moritz (1994) of ancient origin (Miocene). However, Javanmardi et al. 2019 diagnosed 5 lineages. Distribution: for a map see Javanmardi et al. 2019: 405 (Fig. 2). |
| Etymology | S. m. brosseti has been named after the ornithologist and mammologist A. Brosset who helped to collect specimens for J. Bons and G. Pasteur. |
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