Ebenavia safari HAWLITSCHEK, SCHERZ, RUTHENSTEINER, CROTTINI & GLAW, 2018
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Ebenavia safari
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Ebenavia safari HAWLITSCHEK, SCHERZ, RUTHENSTEINER, CROTTINI & GLAW 2018 Ebenavia inunguis Pemba — PAKENHAM 1983 Ebenavia inunguis Pemba — SPAWLS et al. 2018 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — ANGEL 1942 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — BLANC 1971 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — BLANC 1972 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — NUSSBAUM & RAXWORTHY 1998, partim Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — MEIRTE 1999, partim Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — MEIRTE 2004 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — HAWLITSCHEK et al. 2011 Ebenavia inunguis Mayotte — HAWLITSCHEK et al. 2013 Ebenavia inunguis complex Clade B — HAWLITSCHEK et al. 2016 Ebenavia inunguis complex North Clade — HAWLITSCHEK et al. 2016 |
| Distribution | N Madagascar, Mayotte (Comoros Archipelago), Tanzania (Pemba Island) Type locality: around Tungamaa, Pemba, Tanzania (5.0747° S, 39.7561° E, 9 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous; eggs collected in 2008 were found as part of a common clutch of several females comprising > 10 eggs. This clutch was found in the mulch within a tree cavity. The eggs hatched within 3 days from their collection. |
| Types | Holotype: ZSM 2725/2010 (FGZC 3435), adult female, collected 09 January 2009 by F. Glaw, O. Hawlitschek, and D. Rödder. Paratypes: ZSM 2724/2010 (FGZC 3434), adult male, and ZSM 2726/2010 (FGZC 3530), adult female, collected 09 January 2009, around Tungamaa, Pemba, Tanzania (5.0747° S, 39.7561° E, 9 m a.s.l.), by F. Glaw, O. Hawlitschek, and D. Rödder. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Distinguished from Ebenavia maintimainty, E. boettgeri, and E. robusta sp. nov. by rostral scale in contact with nostril (RNO = yes); from E. maintimainty by larger SVL (31.0–39.5 vs. ≤ 24 mm), rostral scale bordered by postrostrals distinct from posterior head scales, absence of prenasal scale between rostral and nostril, keeled abdominal scales, and lighter colour; from E. inunguis by higher ILAB (9–11 vs. 8–10) and DTAP (38–54 vs. 33–43); from E. tuelinae sp. nov. by ratio EE/HL (0.29–0.42 vs. 0.27–0.36), HINL/AGD (0.55– 0.80 vs. 0.67–0.86), and lower DTAP (38–54 vs. 52–62); from E. boettgeri by higher DTAP (38–54 vs. 33–49); from E. robusta sp. nov. by absence of distinct tubercles on hindlimbs (TUB = no), smaller SVL (31.0–39.5 vs. 34.4–42.6 mm), smaller ratio of BW/SVL (0.13–0.20 vs. 0.15–0.22), and lower IOS (17–22 vs. 20–23). Furthermore, distinguished from all other analysed Ebenavia except E. boettgeri by long tapering nasal process of prevomer; from E. tuelinae sp. nov. and E. robusta sp. nov. by long premaxillary lappets of nasals; from all other analysed Ebenavia by absence of basal tubercle on basisphenoid; from E. tuelinae sp. nov. by a codon insertion of AGG (Glutamine) at position 498 from the 5′ primer binding site of the PRLR fragment; and from E. inunguis and E. boettgeri by a codon deletion of CGA (Proline) at position 438. (Hawlitschek et al. 2018: 12) |
| Comment | Distribution: see map in Hawlitschek et al. 2018: 48 (Fig. 5). Habitat: E. safari sp. nov. is observed in natural or near natural humid forests, but it has also been detected in dry forests of Ampombofofo and Montagne des Français. In Mayotte, E. safari sp. nov. were almost exclusively observed in pristine forest areas, mostly in ferns or Pandanus plants. |
| Etymology | ‘Safari’ means ‘voyage’ in the Kiswahili and Comoran (Shimaoré) languages spoken across the range of this species outside Madagascar. The name was chosen because this species dispersed over surprisingly long distances across the open ocean. It is treated as an unlatinised, invariable noun in apposition. |
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