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Homopholis walbergii (SMITH, 1849)

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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Wahlberg’s Velvet Gecko 
SynonymGeko Walbergii A. SMITH 1849: plate 75
Homopholis walbergii — BOULENGER 1885: 171
Homopholis macrolepis BOULENGER 1885: 474 (fide LOVERIDGE 1947)
Homopholis walbergii — WERMUTH 1965: 93
Homopholus wahlbergi [sic] — KAHL et al. 1980: 137
Homopholis walbergii — AUERBACH 1987: 89
Platypholis walbergii — KLUGE 1993
Homopholis wahlbergi — BRANCH 1993
Homopholis walbergii — KLUGE & NUSSBAUM 1995
Platypholis walbergii — RÖSLER 1995: 148
Homopholis wahlbergi — BOYCOTT 1992
Homopholis wahlbergii — BRANCH 1993: 118
Homopholis walbergii — RÖSLER 2000: 89
Homopholis wahlbergii — BRANCH & BAUER 2005
Homopholis wahlbergii — BROADLEY et al. 2014 
DistributionSouth Africa (south of the Soutpansberg), Mozambique (south of the Limpopo River)

Type locality: Kaffernland easwards to the Cape Colony.

Neotype locality: Jozini Dam, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesNeotype: PEM R17603, adult female, designated by BROADLEY et al. 2014
Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.26.4 [macrolepis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Homopholis species are large, ranging from about 70–120 mm in adult maximum SVL. The build is stocky and powerful, with fairly short limbs and a non-depressed body form. As in all gekkonids, eyelids do not function. Homopholis species are generally gray in color, with spots, chevrons, stripes, or bands sometimes present. Homopholis can be distinguished from other geckos by the following combination of characteristics: hyoid without second ceratobranchial cartilages; 14 scleral ossicles; stapedial foramen present; frontal single or paired; parietal fused; cloacal bones present; phalangeal formula 2-3-4-5-3/2-3-4-5-4 (manus/pes); Thecadactylus-type paraphalangeal elements present; eye with vertical pupil having notched margins; digits free, strongly dilated, bearing up to 12 chevron-shaped undivided adhesive lamellae; claws inconspicuous, may be retractable; dorsal scalation consists of small, smooth granules, giving a velvety appearance; preanal pores present; tail round, thick, shorter than SVL, tapering; females lay two hard-shelled eggs (Loveridge 1947, Kluge 1967, Branch 1998, Alexander and Marais 2007, Russell and Bauer 2008).


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CommentType species: Geko Wahlbergii A. SMITH 1849: plate 7 is the type species of the genus Homopholis BOULENGER 1885: 191. 

Diet: Whiting et al. (2007) found that the diet of this species consisted largely of beetles and lepidopterans, with alate termites, grasshoppers and small millipedes also well represented.

Habitat: Like H. arnoldi, this species is often found on the walls of buildings, in rock crevices, holes of tree trunks, or under the loose bark of dead trees.

Karyotype: Chrostek et al. 2023. 
EtymologyNamed after the collector of the type specimen, Mr. Walberg of Stockholm. Note, however, that Smith’s spelling was not consistent. He used “wahlbergii” in the index to his book, but “walbergi” in the description. We use walbergi here as he explicitly mentions “Mr. Walberg”. However, Smith 1849, in an unpaginated errata page, corrects the spelling from “Walbergii” to “Wahlbergii” 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Barts, M. 2006. Der Gebänderte Samtgecko und Wahlbergs Gecko, Homopholis fasciata und H. wahlbergi. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 64 pp. - get paper here
  • Barts, M. 2021. Geckos aus dem südlichen Afrika. DATZ 2021 (5): 24-34
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Descriptions of three new species of geckoes. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 16: 473-475 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. Geckonidae, Eublepharidae, Uroplatidae, Pygopodidae, Agamidae. London: 450 pp. - get paper here
  • Boycott, R.C. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Branch, William R. & Bauer, Aaron M. 2005. The herpetological contributions of Sir Andrew Smith. SSAR, 80 pp.
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Broadley, Donald G.; Todd R. Jackman & Aaron M. Bauer 2014. A review of the genus Homopholis Boulenger (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) in southern Africa. African Journal of Herpetology 63 (2): 109-126; DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2014.930071 - get paper here
  • Chrostek G, Domaradzka A, Yurchenko A, Kratochvíl L, Mazzoleni S, Rovatsos M 2023. Cytogenetic Analysis of Seven Species of Gekkonid and Phyllodactylid Geckos. Genes 14 (1): 178 - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, WERNER; WILLIAM R. BRANCH, & GILLIAN WATSON 2019. Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 2: Reptiles (Squamata). Zootaxa 4576 (1): 001–045 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G. V. 1988. Life History Note: Homopholis walbergii: Reproduction. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (35): 37-37 - get paper here
  • Jacobsen, Niels H.G.; Errol W. Pietersen & Darren W. Pietersen 2010. A preliminary herpetological survey of the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary on the San Sebastian Peninsula, Vilankulo, Mozambique. Herpetology Notes 3: 181-193
  • Kahl B, Gaupp P & Schmidt G 1980. Das Terrarium. Falken Verlag, Niederhausen (Germany), 336 pp.
  • Kirchhof, S., M. Krämer, J. Linden & K. Richter 2010. The reptile species assemblage of the Soutpansberg (Limpopo Province, South Africa) and its characteristics. Salamandra 46 (3): 147-166 - get paper here
  • Kluge,A.G. & Nussbaum,R.A. 1995. A review of African-Madagascan gekkonid lizard phylogeny and biogeography (Squamata). Misc. Pub. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 183: 1-20 - get paper here
  • Loveridge,A. 1944. Remarks on the gekkonid genera Homopholis and Platypholis with description of a new race. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 57: 1-4 - get paper here
  • Rösler, Herbert 1995. Geckos der Welt - Alle Gattungen. Urania, Leipzig, 256 pp.
  • SCHÄFER, C. 1994. Haltung und Zucht von Homopholis wahlbergii (SMITH, 1849). Sauria 16 (4): 19-24 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. 3 (Reptiles). Smith, Elder, and Co., London [facsimile published by Winchester Press, Johannesburg, 1977] - get paper here
  • Visser J 1987. A new Homopholis (Sauria, Gekkonidae) from the northern Transvaal with a discussion of some generic characters. South African J Zoology 22 (2) 1987: 110-114 - get paper here
 
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