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Sphaerodactylus exsul BARBOUR, 1914

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Higher TaxaSphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Swan Islands Geckolet 
SynonymSphaerodactylus exsul BARBOUR 1914
Sphaerodactylus notatus exsul — SCHWARTZ 1966: 170
Sphaerodactylus notatus exsul — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988
Sphaerodactylus exsul — MCCRANIE 2011
Sphaerodactylus exsul — POWELL & HENDERSON 2012
Sphaerodactylus exsul — MCCRANIE 2015 
DistributionHonduras (Swan Island)

Type locality: Little Swan Island, Swan Islands  
Reproductionoviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: MCZ 7894 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: The combination of lacking moveable eyelids, having dorsal surface of the head covered with small scales, having the claws displaced laterally by expanded terminal subdigital lamellae, and having a superciliary spine distinguishes Sphaerodactylus exsul from all other Honduran lizards, except the remaining Sphaerodactylus. Sphaerodactylus exsul has larger middorsal scales numbering 22– 30 longitudinal rows and lacks a middorsal zone of granular scales (versus 40 or more dorsal scales, or if less than 40 dorsal scales, a distinct middorsal zone of granules present, in all other Sphaerodactylus) (McCranie 2018: 110).


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CommentFor illustrations see Barbour and Ramsden, 1919; Barbour, 1921 (as S. notatus, S.exsul)

Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). 
EtymologyThe specific name exsul is Latin, meaning banished person or exile. The name alludes to the isolated occurrence of this species. 
References
  • Barbour, Thomas 1914. A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the West Indies, with Especial Reference to Amphibians and Reptiles. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy 44 (2): 205-359 - get paper here
  • Hedges SB, Powell R, Henderson RW, Hanson S, and Murphy JC 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology 67: 1–53
  • McCranie J R 2011. The snakes of Honduras. SSAR, Salt Lake City, 725 pp.
  • McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2018. The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publication Series (2): 1- 666 - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • Powell, R., and R. W. Henderson, Eds. 2012. Island lists of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 2:85–166 - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. 1966. Geographic variation in Sphaerodactylus notatus Baird. Revista de Biologia Tropical 13 [1965]:161—185 - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1988. West Indian Amphibian and Reptiles: A Checklist. Milwaukee Publ. Mus. Contr. Biol. Geol. No. 74: 264 pp. - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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