Tropiocolotes tripolitanus PETERS, 1880
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Tropiocolotes tripolitanus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | Tropiocolotes tripolitanus occidentalis PARKER 1942 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus apoklomax PAPENFUSS 1969 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus tripolitanus PETERS 1880 |
| Common Names | E: Northern Sand Gecko G: Tripolitanischer Zwerggecko |
| Synonym | Tropiocolotes tripolitanus PETERS 1880: 306 Stenodactylus tripolitanus — BOULENGER 1885: 19 Tropiocolotes apoklomax PAPENFUSS 1969 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus — KLUGE 1993 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 282 Tropiocolotes (Tropiocolotes) tripolitanus — RÖSLER 2000: 119 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus — BAUER et al. 2013 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus — MACHADO et al. 2020 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus apoklomax PAPENFUSS 1969 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus apoklomax — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus occidentalis PARKER 1942 Tropiocolotes occidentalis PARKER 1942: 47 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus occidentalis — BAHA EL DIN 2001 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus occidentalis — RÖSLER 2000 Tropiocolotes occidentalis occidentalis — SCHLÜTER 2004 Tropiocolotes occidentalis — KRAUSE et al. 2013 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus tripolitanus PETERS 1880 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus tripolitanus — BAHA EL DIN 2001 Tropiocolotes tripolitanus tripolitanus — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008 |
| Distribution | Morocco, Algeria (Sahara, Kenadsa/Colomb Bechar), Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Mali, Sudan, Chad apoklomax: Mali; Type locality: Sanga, Mali. occidentalis: Western Sahara, Mauritania; Type locality: Rio de Oro. tripolitanus: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Chad (Krause et al. 2013). Type locality: “Uadi M’bellum, Tripolitanien” [Libya] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: ZMB 9668A; designated by BAUER & GÜNTHER 1991 Holotype: CAS 103209 [apoklomax] Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.27.50 [occidentalis] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Tropiocolotes species are very small, ranging from about 29–40 mm in maximum SVL. They are of slight build and rather elongate. As in all gekkonids, eyelids do not function. Tropiocolotes species are shades of tan, gray, brown, or yellow in color, often with dark markings. In some species, the color pattern is quite bold. Tropiocolotes can be distinguished from other geckos by the following combination of characteristics: hyoid without second ceratobranchial cartilages; 14 scleral ossicles; stapedial foramen present; frontal single; parietals paired; nasals paired; cloacal bones present; phalangeal formula 2-3-4-5-3/2-3-4-5-4 (manus/pes); paraphalangeal elements absent; eye with vertical pupil with notched margins; digits free, not expanded, with lateral serrations, but no lateral fringe; non-expanded subdigital lamellae are keeled; digits not bent at joints; claws present; dorsal scalation imbricate, with fairly large, rhomboid scales; preanal pores absent; tail moderate, of average width, tapering, cylindrical, not distinctly segmented; females lay two hard-shelled eggs (Kluge 1967, Russell and Bauer 2008, Loveridge 1947, Szczerbak and Gulubev 1996). |
| Comment | Subspecies: Some authors (like SZCZERBAK 1986, Proc. SEH Meeting 1985: 705) only recognize somalicus as subspecies. Others [including us] consider T. t. somalicus as full species such as RÖSLER 2000 who recognizes only occidentalis and algericus as subspecies. Type species: Tropiocolotes tripolitanus is the type species of the genus Tropiocolotes PETERS 1880. Distribution: has been reported from Sudan but probably not present there (L. Chirio, pers. comm. via S. Meiri, 1 Aug 2012). See map in Machado et al. 2020 (Fig. 1). |
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