Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola DÍAZ-LAMEIRO, VILLAMIL, GAMBLE, PINTO, HERRERA-MARTÍNEZ, THOMAS, BERNSTEIN, TITUS-MCQUILLAN, NIELSEN, AGOSTO-TORRES, PUENTE-ROLÓN, BIRD-PICÓ, OLEKSYK, MARTÍNEZ-CRUZADO & DAZA, 2022
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Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Puerto Rican Karst Gecko Spanish: Salamanquita de Monte y Mar |
| Synonym | Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola DÍAZ-LAMEIRO, VILLAMIL, GAMBLE, PINTO, HERRERA-MARTÍNEZ, THOMAS, BERNSTEIN, TITUS-MCQUILLAN, NIELSEN, AGOSTO-TORRES, PUENTE-ROLÓN, BIRD-PICÓ, OLEKSYK, MARTÍNEZ-CRUZADO & DAZA 2022 Sphaerodactylus klauberi Cluster I — THOMAS & SCHWARTZ 1966 Sphaerodactylus klauberi — THOMAS & SCHWARTZ, 1975 Sphaerodactylus klauberi SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991 Sphaerodactylus klauberi RIVERO 1998 Sphaerodactylus klauberi RIVERO 2006 Sphaerodactylus spp. DÍAZ-LAMEIRO et al. 2013 Sphaerodactylus klauberi Northwest clade — DAZA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Puerto Rico Type locality: Puerto Rico, Rincón, Playa Domes, near the former Boiling Nuclear Superheater Reactor Facility, now Museo Tecnológico Dr. Modesto Iriarte, on the foothills of the mountain behind Road 4413 (18.3638808, –67.2679138) in Barrio Puntas, elevation of 9.4 m.a.s.l., |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. MPM-RA34016 (Fig. 2C–D), adult male, 30 June 2016. Paratypes. MPM-RA34017, female (Fig. 2A–B), from the same locality along with the holotype; MPM-RA34018, female (Fig. 2E–F), MPM-RA34019, male (Fig. 2G–H), Bosque Estatal de Río Abajo, 18.3331028, –66.7169458, 2015. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola was formerly considered a small morphological variant within S. klauberi (Cluster I in Thomas and Schwartz [1966]). This species is genetically divergent (Fig. 4) from the high elevation populations restricted here to S. klauberi sensu stricto along its distributional range (Fig. 1; D ́ıaz-Lameiro et al., 2013; Daza et al., 2019). Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola can be distinguished from all congeners by the following characters: (1) size (median SVL = 21.50 mm), (2) smooth to partially keeled pectoral scales that are round to rhomboid in shape and either juxtaposed or slightly overlapping, (3) a distinctive clubshaped light cephalic figure, (4) a dark pentagonal parietal patch, (5) a short, steeply inclined nasal process in the premaxilla, (6) a large clavicular fenestra, and (7) a clavicular foramen near the anterior edge. Externally, S. verdeluzicola can be easily differentiated from congeners from Puerto Rico, especially the four species with potentially overlapping ranges: Sphaerodactylus klauberi Grant 1931, Sphaerodactylus nicholsi Grant 1931, Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis guarionex Thomas and Schwartz 1966, and Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis ateles Thomas and Schwartz 1966. In size, it is significantly smaller than high elevation S. klauberi (median SVL = 21.50 mm versus 30.83 mm in S. klauberi, W = 910, P = 4.133e–10; Fig. 5), S. grandisquamis, and S. roosevelti, although its proportions are similar to other low elevation Sphaerodactylus such as S. gaigeae, S. nicholsi, and S. townsendi. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola can be differentiated from S. roosevelti and S. grandisquamis in the lack of sexual dimorphism and smaller size (Daza et al., 2019). Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola differs from S. g. guarionex Thomas and Schwartz 1966 in that S. verdeluzicola displays a less marked, lighter, and more diffuse scapular patch. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola is also smaller in size than S. g. guarionex (SVL . 30 mm). Additionally, the pectoral scales are faintly keeled or smooth in S. verdeluzicola (Fig. 6) and keeled in S. g. guarionex, and the nuchal patch or patches are never continuous with the scapular patch in S. verdeluzicola. Unlike S. g. guarionex, S. verdeluzicola does not display a series of longitudinal dark lines on the dorsum. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola differs from S. g. ateles in that it is smaller than S. g. ateles (SVL . 30 mm) and lacks keeled gular scales. The distinctive head and scapular pattern of S. verdeluzicola is consistently present in both males and females (Figs. 2, 3), while S. g. ateles are sexually dimorphic. The ocelli on the scapular patch of S. verdeluzicola are clearly differentiated from the ground color and surrounded by dark lines laterally. The throat of S. verdeluzicola lacks the yellow-orange throat coloration of male S. g. ateles and the distinctive longitudinal lines on the dorsum of the body of female S. g. ateles. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola is similar in appearance and proportions to species from low elevations that have a lighter brown or cream colored dorsum with scattered dark scales, namely S. nicholsi, S. townsendi, and S. gaigeae, the first of these being sympatric with S. verdeluzicola. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola differs from S. nicholsi in that S. verdeluzicola displays a light, club-shaped cephalic figure (Figs. 2, 3). In addition, S. nicholsi has a well-defined crescent-shaped dark mark on the parietal region (Thomas and Schwartz, 1966; Schwartz and Henderson, 1991; Rivero, 1998), while S. verdeluzicola displays a solid triangle or pentagon. Color pattern characters also differentiate S. verdeluzicola from S. townsendi, which has a fragmented pattern of dark patches on the head, and from S. gaigeae, which has a ribbon-shaped mark on it (Figs. 2, 3). Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola has a more marked, darker scapular patch with fewer dark blotches on the dorsum compared to S. gaigeae (white patches surrounded by dark blotches in the back in S. gaigeae; Thomas and Schwartz, 1966; Schwartz and Henderson, 1991; Rivero, 1998), as well as more defined light transverse and dorsolateral lines compared to S. gaigeae, which has more chevron-like tail markings. Another species that occurs geographically closer to S. verdeluzicola, although restricted to Desecheo Island, is S. levinsi. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola differs from this species in not having a well-defined dot in the parietal region and the scapular patch less defined, which in S. levinsi entirely encloses two ocelli. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola is typically lighter in coloration than S. klauberi. In addition, it can be distinguished from S. klauberi by a characteristic light-colored cephalic figure resembling a club-shaped marking and a dark brown, pentagonal, parietal patch (Figs. 2, 3). Sphaerodactylus klauberi from El Yunque also have rhomboid pectoral scales, but they are more elongated and have keels that are more defined (raised) than in the R ́ıo Abajo populations of S. verdeluzicola (Fig. 6). Since the number of pectoral scales between the armpits is similar in all the specimens (18–19), scale morphological differences may result from allometric changes. Sphaerodactylus verdeluzicola and S. klauberi can also differ in the shape of the snout and the clavicular fenestra. In S. verdeluzicola (Fig. 7A–C), the lateral view of the snout is proportionally shorter and more steeply inclined than in S. klauberi (Fig. 7D–F). The differences in snout shape are mainly due to the ascending nasal process, which in S. verdeluzicola expands halfway along its length and tapers gradually to end in a rounded tip (Fig. 7A). In S. klauberi, this process tapers gradually (without the expansion) along its entire length, ending in a point (Fig. 7D). The clavicular fenestra in S. klauberi and S. verdeluzicola is entirely enclosed by bone, but in S. verdeluzicola the clavicular fenestra is proportionally larger, resulting in a very thin anterior margin (Fig. 8). The two species also display differences in the position of the clavicular foramen, with S. verdeluzicola displaying a foramen near the anterior edge (Fig. 8H) and S. klauberi in the middle of the clavicle (Fig. 8G). (Diaz-Lameiro et al. 2022) |
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