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Gehyra variegata (DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1836)

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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Varied Dtella, Tree Dtella 
SynonymHemidactylus Variegatus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 353
Peropus (Dactyloperus) variegatus — FITZINGER 1843
Peripia variegata — GRAY 1845
Gehyra australis GRAY 1845 (partim)
Peropus pusillus COPE 1869: 319
Hemidactylus pusillus — GÜNTHER 1875: 17
Hemidactylus variegatus — SCHMELTZ 1879
Peripia variegata — MÜLLER 1880
Gehyra variegata — BOULENGER 1885: 151 (partim)
Lepidodactylus pusillus — BOULENGER 1885: 167
Gehyra variegata — DE ROOIJ 1915: 43
Peropus variegatus — ZIETZ 1920 (partim)
Peropus variegatus variegatus — LOVERIDGE 1934
Peropus pusillus — LOVERIDGE 1934: 303
Gehyra variegata variegata — MITCHELL 1955
Dactyloperus variegata — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984
Dactyloperus variegatus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985
Dactyloperus lazelli WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 11 (fide SHEA 1999)
Gehyra variegata (?) — KLUGE 1991
Lepidodactylus pusillus — KLUGE 1993
Gehyra variegata — KLUGE 1993
Gehyra variegata — COGGER 2000: 244
Gehyra variegata — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria,Western Australia)

Type locality: Tasmania, Baie des Chiens marins (now: Shark Bay), Australia; Terre de Van Diemen.

pusillus: Australia; Type locality: SW-Australia (see comment)  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 2295, designated by Wells & Wellington (1983); paralectotypes: MNHN-RA 0254, MNHN-RA 2007.2409 (former MNHN-RA 0254A) and MNHN-RA 2007.2430 (former MNHN-RA 0254B), MNHN-RA 2295 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Distinguished from other Australian Gehyra (except G. versicolor) by a combination of 7 or 8 divided scansors under the expanded portion of the fourth toe, moderate size, generally two pairs of enlarged chin shields, second infralabial notched and a dorsal pattern in which dark lines and white markings coordinate to produce a pattern of dark lines and bars with white trailing edges. Not readily distinguishable by external morphology from G. versicolor sp. nov. (see below), but distinguished karyotypically by the unique 2n=40b arrangement (King 1979). Otherwise most similar to G. montium but distinguished by grey to brown rather than more rufous dorsal colouring, with white markings that form a posterior highlight or margin on the trailing edge of the dark dorsal lines, rather than small poorly contrasting dots that are not coordinated with the dark markings. This diagnosis applies to populations of Gehyra genetically assignable to the “variegata clade” of Sistrom et al. (2013). From Hutchinson et al. 2014. 
CommentGroup: Member of the G. variegata-punctata species complex.

Karyotype: This taxon is apparently a composite of several chromosomally distinct species.

Subspecies: G. (v.) ogasawarisimae is a misidentified speciment of Lepidodactylus lugubris (BAUER & HENLE 1994).

Synonymy: Dactyloperus lazelli WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985 has been removed from the synonymy of G. variegata. The status of Peropus pusillus COPE 1869 is unclear. The description is insufficient to identify the species to which the holotype belongs. Loveridge 1934 (fide Cogger 1983) “rejected type status of MCZ 5725, which had previously been regarded as Cope’s holotype and assigned to Diplodactylus spinigerus. P. pusillus is not listed in Rösler 2000, nor by COGGER 2000.

Abundance: common, with more than 800 specimens collected (Pianka 2011)

Distribution: see map in Kealley et al. 2018: 4 (Fig. 1). Many populations in Western Australia have been split off as separate species by Kealley et al. 2018. NSW populations (like all eastern Australian populations formerly ascribed to variegata) are now G. versicolor. There is an extensive zone in the NT and SA where the identity of the populations as either variegata or versicolor is unknown (G. Shea, pers. comm., 5 March 2021). 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin variegatus (of different sorts, particularly of color), in reference to the variegated pattern. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
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  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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