Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus (BEDDOME, 1870)
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Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Southern Ghats slender gecko |
Synonym | Hemidactylus aurantiacus BEDDOME 1870: 33 Hemidactylus aurantiacus — STOLICZKA 1872 Lepidodactylus aurantiacus — BOULENGER 1885: 164 Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus — STEJNEGER 1899 Hemiphyllodactylus typus aurantiacus — SMITH 1935 Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus — BAUER & DAS 1999 Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus — ZUG 2010 Hemiphyllodactylus cf. aurantiacus — GANESH et al. 2018 |
Distribution | S India (Anamallays = Anailmalais, Western Ghats, Bangalore, Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh) Type locality: “Shevaroys, under stones about Yercaud and elsewhere, at an elevation of 4,000 feet”. |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Lectotype: BMNH 74.4.29.1333; Syntypes: ZMB 10233, BMNH 74.4.29.1332–1337 |
Diagnosis | Major diagnostic features: bisexual taxon; pigmented caecum and gonadal ducts; in adult males femoral pore series separated from precloacal pore series (TotPore typically ␣20-␣25), always absent in females; chin scales bordering mental and first infralabial not greatly enlarged; digital lamellae formulae 2-2-2-2 (fore- foot) and 2-2-3-2 or 2-2-3-3 (hindfoot); average adult SVL ~33–35 mm; bold body pattern of contrasting dark brown and dusky brown background and dorsal postsacral double bar of dark brown and light orange (ZUG 2010). |
Comment | Distribution: ZUG (2010) believes that its occurrence in Banglore is edificarian and appears to represent a recent accidental transport. Behavior: nocturnal |
Etymology | Beddome offered no explanation for his choice of aurantiacus as the epithet for his new species. He did mention the orange color of the tail base, and because aurantium is a new Latin noun for the orange (fruit), ZUG (2010) suggested his choice derived from the association between the color of the orange and the gecko’s tail. |
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