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Nephrurus sheai COUPER, 1994

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Higher TaxaCarphodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Kimberley Rough Knob-tail 
SynonymNephrurus sheai COUPER in COUPER & GREGSON 1994: 63 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory)

Type locality: Bowerbird Camp, Magela Ck, NT (12°47'S, 133°07'E)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NTM R11470, collected by I. Archibald and J. Bywater, 1 September 1983
Paratypes: AMS (AM), NTM, QM, NMV, SAMA; 42 paratypes in WAM: R1340, Leopold Downs, WA; R12614, Calwynyardah, WA; R13646, Kalumburu, WA; R26633, Halls Creek, WA; R27374, Kalumburu, WA; R43153, Mitchell Plateau, WA; R46116, Margaret River HS, WA; R46782, Prince Regent River [NP], WA; R47587, 8 km N Katherine, NT; R48175, Moola Bulla, WA; R50460, Drysdale River NP, WA; R52661, Lake Argyle, WA; R56423, King Edward River crossing, WA; R56466, Plain Creek, Beverley Springs Stn, WA; R57118, Inglis Gap, King Leopold Range, WA; R57123–27, Gibb River crossing, 47 km N Gibb River Stn, WA; R58636, 25 km SE Bedford Downs HS, WA; R58647, 10 km SE Lansdowne HS, WA; R58671, 20 km ENE Tableland, WA; R60343, R60362, R60947, Jasper Gorge, 53 km NW Victoria River Downs HS, NT; R64731, 4.5 km SE Clancys Yard, WA; R70029, 43 km NW Fitzroy Crossing, WA; R70551, 9.5 km W Inglis Gap, WA; R70552, 8.6 km 167o [SSE] Mt Amy, Napier Downs Stn, WA; R70562, 3.5 km WNW Lissadell HS, WA; R73904, Mt Barnett Stn, WA; R73903, Ellenbrae Stn, WA; R77269, R77581, R77585, Mitchell Plateau, WA; R83359, 24 km NW Mt Elizabeth HS, WA; R83531–32, Galvans Gorge, WA; R86927, Lake Argyle, WA; R87082, 0.5 km N Mary Pool, WA; R87092, 8 km SW Halls Creek, WA. 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS: N. sheai is a large, moderately spinose member of the N. asper species group. N. sheai is distinguished from N. asper and N. amyae by the colour pattern of its digits (digits strongly marked with alternating bands of brown and white vs digits not strongly banded with brown and white); also by size (max SVL 121mm vs 114mm N. asper, 135mm N. amyae). It is further distinguished from N. amyae by the spinosity of the its rump and thighs (moderately spinose vs extremely spinose). The arrangement of the basal scales surrounding the tubercules on the rump and thighs also separate N. sheai and N. amyae. In N. sheai the basal scales are uniform in size and less than half the height of the central scale. In N. amyae the basal scales are irregular in size and in most specimens examined, some of the basal scales are greater than half the height of the central scale. In the KS2 analysis N. sheai and N. amyae show significant separation of the shape of frequency distributions for; KW, HW, HL, S, NL, SL, IL, R & I. N. sheai and N. asper (excluding broad-banded CYP specimens which are not significantly separable from other QLD populations of this species) show significant separation of the shape of frequency distributions for; T, TV, KW, TA, NL, SL, IL, & I. (Table 1). (Couper & Gregson 1994)


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CommentReference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species.

Distribution: for a map of localities see Oliver et al. 2022: 217 (Fig. 1). 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Glenn Michael Shea (b. 1961), a veterinary surgeon and herpetologist and a Research Associate at the Australian Museum, Sydney. He qualified at Sydney University (1983), after which he taught anatomy while completing his doctoral thesis (1992) on Blue-tongued Lizards. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Chapple, David G.; Reid Tingley, Nicola J. Mitchell, Stewart L. Macdonald, J. Scott Keogh, Glenn M. Shea, Philip Bowles, Neil A. Cox, John C. Z. Woinarski 2019. The Action Plan for Australian Lizards and Snakes 2017. CSIRO, 663 pp. DOI: 10.1071/9781486309474 - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Couper P J; Gregson R A M 1994. Redescription of Nephrurus asper Gunther, and description of N. amyae sp. nov. and N. sheai sp. nov. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 37(1): 53-67 - get paper here
  • Ellis, Ryan J.; Paul Doughty and Aaron M. Bauer 2018. An annotated type catalogue of the geckos and pygopods (Squamata: Gekkota: Carphodactylidae, Diplodactylidae, Gekkonidae, Pygopodidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. Records of the Western Australian Museum 33: 051–094 - get paper here
  • Jolly, C., Schembri, B., & Macdonald, S. 2023. Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Northern Territory. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne - get paper here
  • Oliver, P.M. & Bauer, A.M. 2011. Systematics. and evolution of the Australian knob-tail geckos (Nephrurus, Carphodactylidae, Gekkota): Pleisomorphic grades and biome shifts through the Miocene. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59 (3): 664-674 - get paper here
  • Paluh, D. J. and A. M. Bauer 2016. Nephrurus sheai (Northern Knob-tailed Gecko) diet. Herpetological Review 47(3): 466-467. - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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