Afroedura gorongosa BRANCH, GUYTON, SCHMITZ, BAREJ, NASKRECKI, FAROOQ, VERBURGT, RÖDEL, 2017
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Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Afroedura gorongosa BRANCH, GUYTON, SCHMITZ, BAREJ, NASKRECKI, FAROOQ, VERBURGT, RÖDEL 2017 |
Distribution | Mozambique (Gorongosa National Park) Type locality: western flank of Mount Gorongosa, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala Province, Mozambique (1038 m a.s.l., 18 ̊28’04.3”S, 34 ̊02’53.2”E |
Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
Types | Holotype: ZMB 83293 (GNP 484), adult male, collected by M.-O. Rödel and M.F. Barej, 11 December 2015. Paratypes (three specimens). ZMB 83290 (GNP 438), adult female, with incision in left thigh; PEM R22220 (GNP 439, previously ZMB 83291), adult female, with incision in left thigh; ZMB 83292 (GNP 440; will later be deposited in the zoological collection of the E.O. Wilson Laboratory in Gorongosa National Park), adult male, with everted hemipenes and incision in left thigh; collected on 22 May and 21 July 2015 by J.A. Guyton and P. Naskrecki from gallery forest near Murombodzi Waterfall, Mount Gorongosa, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala Province, Mozambique (842 m a.s.l; 18°29'0.1''S, 34°2'34.6''E). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A member of the A. transvaalica-complex in possessing two pairs of enlarged scansors per digit and a strongly verticillate and flattened tail (Jacobsen et al. 2014). Differs from other members of the complex by having 97–102 midbody scale rows (less than 95 in A. bogerti-complex, 113–120 (= 117) in A. loveridgei and 102–119 in A. transvaalica (102–118, = 109 in South Africa—Jacobsen et al. 2014; 108–119, = 114 in Zimbabwe adjacent to Mount Gorongosa); by the rostral bordering the nostril (nostril excluded from rostral in A. loveridgei); by the anterior nasals being separated by 1–3 granules (always in broad contact in A. loveridgei; usually in broad contact in A. transvaalica - <3% in South Africa populations, 18% separated by a single granule in Zimbabwe adjacent to Mount Gorongosa); in having 19–22 scales between the anterior borders of the eyes (15–19 in A. loveridgei; 17–20 in South African A. transvaalica, and 15–19 in Zimbabwe populations adjacent to Mozambique); and in having a higher average number of precloacal pores in males (8–13, = 10; 6–10, = 8 in A. transvaalica; 8–10, = 9 in A. loveridgei). |
Comment | |
Etymology | The specific name refers to Mount Gorongosa and Gorongosa National Park in Central Mozambique, to which the species is endemic. We suggest Gorongosa Flat Gecko is a suitable common name. Afroedura, based on Oedura, is feminine and the specific epithet is treated as a noun in apposition. |
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