Tarentola gigas (BOCAGE, 1875)
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Tarentola gigas
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| Higher Taxa | Phyllodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | Tarentola gigas brancoensis SCHLEICH 1984 Tarentola gigas gigas BOCAGE 1875 |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Ascalabotes gigas BOCAGE 1875 Platydactylus gigas — ROCHEBRUNE 1884 Tarentola gigas — BOULENGER 1885: 200 Tarentola gigas — BOCAGE 1896 Tarentola giganteu — SCHERER 1907 Tarentola gigas — ANGEL 1937 Tarentola delalandii gigas — LOVERIDGE 1947 Tarentola delalandii gigas — MERTENS 1955: 7 Tarentola delalandii gigas — SCHLEICH 1979 Tarentola delalandii gigas — SCHLEICH 1980 Tarentola "delalandii" gigas — SCHLEICH 1982 Tarentola delalandii gigas — GRUBER & SCHLEICH 1982 Tarentola delalandii gigas — BAEZ & SANCHEZ-PINTO 1983 Tarentola delalandii gigas — SCHLEICH & WUTTKE 1983 Tarentola gigas — SCHLEICH 1984 Tarentola borneensis gigas — JOGER 1984: 100 Tarentola borneensis — JOGER 1993 Tarentola gigas — KLUGE 1993 Tarentola borneensis gigas — JOGER 1993 Tarentola (Makariogecko) gigas — CARRANZA et al. 2000 Tarentola borneensis GRAY 1845 Tarentola gigas — VASCONCELOS et al. 2012: 350 Tarentola gigas brancoensis SCHLEICH 1984 Ascalabotes gigas — BOCAGE 1875 Platydactylus gigas — ROCHEBRUNE 1884 Tarentola gigas — BOULENGER 1885 Tarentola giganteu — SCHERER 1907 Tarentola gigas — ANGEL 1937 (part.) Tarentola delalandii gigas — LOVERIDGE 1947 (non BOCAGE 1875) (part.) Tarentola delalandii gigas — MERTENS 1955 Tarentola delalandii gigas — SCHLEICH 1980 Tarentola "delalandii" gigas — SCHLEICH 1982 (part.) Tarentola gigas brancoensis — SCHLEICH 1984 Tarentola borneensis borneensis — JOGER 1984 Tarentola gigas brancoensis — SCHLEICH 1987: 49 Tarentola borneensis borneensis — JOGER 1993 Tarentola (Makariogecko) gigas brancoensis — CARRANZA et al. 2000 Tarentola (Makariogecko) gigas brancoensis — RÖSLER 2000: 116 Tarentola gigas brancoensis — VASCONCELOS et al. 2012: 351 Tarentola gigas gigas (BOCAGE 1875) Ascalabotes gigas BOCAGE 1875 Platydactylus gigas — ROCHEBRUNE 1884 Tarentola gigas — BOULENGER 1885 Tarentola gigas — BOCAGE 1896 Tarentola giganteu — SCHERER 1907 Tarentola gigas — ANGEL 1937 Tarentola delalandii gigas — LOVERIDGE 1947 Tarentola delalandii gigas — MERTENS 1955 Tarentola gigas gigas — SCHLEICH 1984 Tarentola borneensis gigas — JOGER 1984 Tarentola borneensis gigas — JOGER 1993 Tarentola (Makariogecko) gigas gigas — CARRANZA et al. 2000 Tarentola gigas gigas — VASCONCELOS et al. 2012 |
| Distribution | Cape Verde Islands (Razo, Branco) brancoensis: Branco (Cape Verde Islands); Type locality: Branco (Cape Verde Islands) gigas: Raso, São Nicolau (Cape Verde Islands); Type locality: Raso (Cape Verde Islands) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: ZMB 8998 Holotype: ZSM 362/1978/1 (given as ZSM 362/78.1 in the original description) [brancoensis] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Giant gecko with SVL above 100mm [maximum SVL 155 mm (Bocage, 1896), 103.6 mm on average; (Schleich, 1987)]; eye/ear opening ratio 1.5– 2.0 (Schleich, 1987); ear–eye/eye–snout distance ratio slightly ?1 (Schleich, 1984, 1987). Eight to 12 supralabials and seven to nine infralabials (Schleich, 1984); eight to 12 enlarged lamellae under the 4th finger; 160–195 midbody scales (Joger, 1984b); flatter apical dorsal tubercles (Fig. 5D1) with 16 transverse rows (Schleich, 1984); several enlarged tubercles between the eye and the ear opening. Grey dorsal or olive greyish pattern with a broad, light well-defined middorsal line with generally five large saddle-like marks (Figs 6D1, 7D1); cream ventral parts, yellow on the lower parts; big dark spots on the labials, creating an alternating light and dark pattern; eye iris dark grey with a typical vertical light area around the pupil, joining the upper and lower parts of the eye which are also light. It differs from other Tarentola from the same clade D, T. ‘rudis’ from Santiago, Fogo, Brava, Rombos, and Maio, besides from its size, by the absence of a keel on dorsal tubercles. Unlike all other Cape Verdean Tarentola, strong vocalisations play a clear role in social behaviour (Schleich, 1982b, 1987). This species avoids vertical surfaces presumably due to its weight, and presents a robust body with typical extreme fat storage (Schleich, 1987). |
| Comment | Synonymy after Filipe Sousa (pers. comm.). See also comment on T. rudis. |
| Etymology | Named after the giant “Gigas” in Greek mythology, the child of Uranus and Gaea. The name is applied to taxa that are giants oftheir kind. |
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