Sphaerodactylus fantasticus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1836
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Sphaerodactylus fantasticus
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fantasticus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus anidrotus THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fuga THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus hippomanes THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus karukera THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus ligniservulus KING 1962 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus orescius THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus tartaropylorus THOMAS 1964 |
| Common Names | E: Southern Leeward Geckolet, Fantastic Least Gecko |
| Synonym | Sphaerodactylus fantasticus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 406 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus [CUVIER 1836] (fide KLUGE 1993) Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — BOULENGER 1885: 223 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — KING 1962: 21 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 493 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — KLUGE 1993 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — RÖSLER 2000: 112 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus anidrotus THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus anidrotus — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fuga THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fuga — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus hippomanes THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus hippomanes — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus karukera THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus karukera — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus ligniservulus KING 1962: 25 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus ligniservulus — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus orescius THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus orescius — DANIELLS et al. 2010 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus tartaropylorus THOMAS 1964 Sphaerodactylus fantasticus tartaropylorus — DANIELLS et al. 2010 |
| Distribution | Lesser Antilles: Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Antilles, Desirade, Dessainte, Dominica, Montserrat fantasticus: Guadeloupe: west coast of the Basse-Terre portion, from Mahaut south to vicinity of Baillif. Type locality: Martinique (in error); revised to Guadeloupe by Barbour, 1915; further restricted to city of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, by Thomas, 1965. anidrotus: Marie-Galante; Type locality: 5 km SE Grande-Bourg, Marie-Galante. fuga: Dominica, west coast; Type locality: 1 mi. N Morne Raquette, St. Joseph Parish, Dominica. hippomnanes: La Désirade; Type locality: Baie Mahault, La Désirade. karukera: Guadeloupe: known only from Gosier, Ilet de Gosier, and Terre-de-Bas, Îles de la Petite Terre; Type locality: Gosier, on the Grande-Terre portion of Guadeloupe. ligniservulus: Montserrat; Type locality: Plymouth, St. Anthony's Parish, Montserrat. orescius: Guadeloupe, the eastern Basse-Terre portion from Sofaïa south to vicinity of Trois Rivières; Type locality: 1 km S Prise d'Eau, the Basse-Terre portion of Guadeloupe;intergrades with S. fantasticus and S. karukera tartaropylorus: Guadeloupe, the northern portion of Grande-Terre north of the Plaine de Grippon; Type locality: Port d'Enfer, 5.5 km N Campeche, Grande-Terre portion of Guadeloupe. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: MNHN-RA 1770, MNHN-RA 1999.8243 (formerly MNHN-RA 1770A), MNHN-RA 1999.8244 (formerly MNHN-RA 1770B), MNHN-RA 1772, MNHN-RA 1999.8245 (formerly MNHN-RA 1772A), MNHN-RA 1999.8246 (formerly MNHN-RA 1772B) Holotype: MCZ 77123 [anidrotus] Holotype: MCZ 77107 [fuga] Holotype: MCZ 77101 [hippomnanes] Holotype: MCZ 77088 [karukera] Holotype: MCZ 66968 [ligniservulus] Holotype: MCZ 77077 [orescius] Holotype: MCZ 77087 [tartaropylorus] Holotype: MCZ 77101, an adult male, collected by R. Thomas on 7 march 1963 [hippomanes] |
| Diagnosis | |
| Comment | Illustrations: Barbour, 1921; King, 1962; Thomas, 1965. Subspecies: Sphaerodactylus fantasticus phyzacinus THOMAS 1964 is now considered as a valid species. Distribution: Ranges that include Venezuela and Mexico (e.g. Wermuth 1965) are based on erroneous 19th century interpretations of species limits. |
| Etymology | Named after Latin fantasticus, a, um, ‘imaginary, unreal’, in reference to its singular coloring (Fretey 2023). S. f. anidrotus was named after the Greek privative prefix άν- and ιδρὣτος, ‘sweat’ to mark a painful effort, or ‘work done with effort’. One might think that this species was caught without difficulty (work done effortlessly), but Thomas (1964) did not explain his choice (Fretey 2023). S. f. hippomanes was named after Greek ἱππομανής, ‘plant that excites horses’ (from ἳππος, ‘horse’ and μανής, ‘madness’), in reference to the manchineel trees (Hippomane mancenilla) under which this species was collected (Fretey 2023). S. f. karukera was named after the Carib vernacular name ‘karukera’ for guadeloupe (Fretey 2023). S. f. orescius was named after Greek ὄρεος, ‘mountain’, όρέσκιος, ‘who lives in the mountains (Fretey 2023). S. f. tartaropylorus was named after Greek τάρταρος, ‘hell’ and ‘πυλωρός, ‘porter, doorman’ (from πύλος, ‘gate’), in reference to the distribution of this species in Porte d’Enfer, guadeloupe (Fretey 2023). |
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