Hemidactylus festivus CARRANZA & ARNOLD, 2012
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Hemidactylus festivus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Hemidactylus festivus CARRANZA & ARNOLD 2012 Hemidactylus yerburii — ARNOLD 1977: 101 (part.) Hemidactylus yerburii — ARNOLD 1986: 283 (part.) Hemidactylus yerburii — ARNOLD 1986: 420 (part.) Hemidactylus yerburii — SCHÄTTI & DESVOIGNES 1999: 52 (part.) Hemidactylus yerburii — VAN DER KOOIJ 2000: 113 (part.) Hemidactylus yerburii — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008: 117 (part.) |
| Distribution | S Oman, SE Yemen (from the Hadramaut area in Southeastern Yemen to Southern Dhofar province in Oman, as far East as Sawqirah) Type locality: Wadi Ayoun, 670 m, Dhofar region (South Oman) 17.24671’N 53.88774’E. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH 1977.977, female from Wadi Ayoun, 670 m, Dhofar region (South Oman) 17.24671’N 53.88774’E WGS84, collected in October 1977 by E.N. Arnold (MorphoBank M95339–M95353). Paratypes: BMNH1977.978, female, same collecting data as Holotype (MorphoBank M95354–M95367); BMNH1977.976, female, same collecting data as Holotype (MorphoBank M95323–M95338); BMNH1977.979, female, same collecting data as Holotype (MorphoBank M95368–M95379); BMNH1977.980, female, same collecting data as Holotype (MorphoBank M95380–M95392); BMNH1977.981, female, same collecting data as Holotype (MorphoBank M95393–M95407); IBES7419, female from 20 km South of Thumrait, 586 m, Dhofar region (South Oman) 17.4596’N 54.0446’E, collected in October 2010 by S. Carranza and F. Amat (MorphoBank M99801–M99810); IBES7159, male from Wadi Ayoun, 670 m, Dhofar region (South Oman) 17.24671’N 53.88774’E WGS84, collected in May 2011 by S. Carranza, E. Gómez-Díaz and F. Amat (MorphoBank M99733–M99743); ONHM3708, male, same collecting data as IBES7159 (MorphoBank M99744–M99753); IBES7605, male, same collecting data as IBES7159 (MorphoBank M99754–M99763); IBES8062, male from Wadi Ayoun, 670 m, Dhofar region (South Oman) 17.24671’N 53.88774’E WGS84, collected in October 2010 by S. Carranza and F. Amat (MorphoBank M99764–M99773). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis A medium-sized Hemidactylus with a maximum recorded SVL of 53.6 mm; with a mean of 13.3 (12–15) longitudinal rows of enlarged dorsal tubercles at mid-body; adhesive pads on toes medium-sized; lamellae under the 1st toe of pes mean 6.9 (6–7); lamellae under the 4th toe mean 11.3 (10–12); preanal pores 6; expanded subcaudals usually beginning 1–8 verticils behind vent (average about 4). Distinctive pattern of narrow dark bands – one on neck, three on body and one on anterior sacrum, often suffused with yellow in life; tubercles on body often with opaque white pigment, sometimes on medial side of tubercles, while lateral sides are dark. Tail very light distally with pattern of 7–9 widely separated dark bands, the more distal of which extend to the ventral surface. Distinguished from H. alkiyumii by its smaller adult size (SVL max. 53.6 mm, compared with max. 74.5 mm), fewer preanal pores in males (6, compared with mean 7.3, 6–10), more slender habitus and distinctive coloring of the tail and body. Hemidactylus festivus differs from H. yerburii in its smaller adult size (SVL max. 53.6 mm, compared with max. 67.6 mm in H. yerburii), in having fewer longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (mean 13.3, 12–15, compared with mean 16.7, 16–17), fewer preanal pores in males (6, compared with mean 12.8, 10–15), and in having enlarged tubercles on tail that are not spinose. It differs from H. yerburii montanus, endemic to the highlands of Yemen, in its smaller adult size (SVL max. 53.6 mm, compared with max. 68 mm in H. y. montanus), in having fewer longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (mean 13.3, 12–15, compared with mean 15.1 in males and 15.47 in females, 14–16), and in having fewer preanal pores in males (6, compared with mean 10.2). It differs from H. jumailiae from Yemen (formerly H. yerburii) in having large trihedral tubercles present on back (small cycloid tubercles in H. jumailiae), more slender habitus and distinctive coloring. It differs from H. shihraensis in having higher number of lamellae under the 1st toe of pes (mean 6.9, 6–7, compared with 6), higher number of lamellae under the 4th toe of pes (mean 11.3, 10–12, compared with 10). It differs from H. saba in having lower number of lamellae under the 1st toe of pes (mean 6.9, 6–7 compared with 8), a higher number of ventral scales (about 45 in a transverse row at mid-body between lateral folds where these are discernible, compared with an average of 31 in males and 30 in females in H. saba). |
| Comment | MorphoBank M95099–M95289 M99609–M99718 |
| Etymology | The species epithet “festivus” is an adjective that refers to the “happy” aspect of this species, with its bright coloring in the dorsal pattern of living animals and with the juveniles moving around leaping with the tail raised to show its conspicuous black and white coloring. |
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