Lygodactylus wojnowskii MALONZA, GRANTHON & WILLIAMS, 2016
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Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Mt. Kenya dwarf gecko |
Synonym | Lygodactylus wojnowskii MALONZA, GRANTHON & WILLIAMS 2016 Lygodactylus wojnowskii — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 116 |
Distribution | Kenya Type locality: vicinity of Chogoria Town, Meru South in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya ( 0°14’ S, 37°37’ E), ca. 1600 m. |
Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
Types | Holotype: NMK L3383/2 (Field No. PK176), adult male; collected 14 June 2010 by Danston Munene. Paratypes. NMK L3383/3 (Field No. PK177), L3383/4 (Field No. PK178), adult males; L3383/1 (Field No. PK175), L3383/5 (Field No. PK179), L3383/6 (Field No. PK180), L3383/7 (Field No. PK181), L3383/8 (Field No. PK182), L3383/9 (Field No. PK183), L3383/10 (Field No. PK184), adult females; all collected in the same area as the holotype by the same collector. NMK L3213/1 (Field No. H162), L3213/2 (Field No. H197), adult males same locality as holotype, collected June 2009 by David Wojnowski. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. differs from its closest species L. mombasicus in having a different dorsal head pattern which has a Y-shaped pale stripe. While the throat of both species is dark or black, that of female Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. bears a chevron and a characteristic “o” shaped white chin spot. The two supranasals in L. wojnowskii sp. nov. are separated by 3 scales while in L. mombasicus they are separated by one scale. Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. is assignable to the picturatus group on the basis of the following combination of characters: a large, undivided mental scale and subcaudal scales with the median row strongly enlarged transversely. Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. may be specifically diagnosed by possessing a combination of the following characters: regular head pattern, male throat black, that of female with two chevrons, six post-postmentals, no striking sexual dichromatism. Its dorsal colour is very similar to L. mombasicus and to some extent to L. kimhowelli but the stripes on the head join to form a Y-shaped mark between the orbits unlike the ring-like blotch in L. mombasicus. Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. falls within the size range of both L. mombasicus and L. picturatus (L. wojnowskii : males 35–38 mm SVL, females 30–38 mm; L. mombasicus: males 37–39 mm, females 34–35 mm; L. picturatus: males 38–39 mm; females 35–36 mm). Lygodactylus wojnowskii sp. nov. has greater number of post-postmentals of 6 versus 5 in L. mombasicus. It differs from other members of the L. picturatus group from Kenya as follows: L. keniensis has irregular head stripes and no dark vertebral stripes, female throat with three chevrons; L. mombasicus females, despite having two chevrons on the throat, lack the white chin spot. The other members of picturatus group in Kenya are quite different: L. picturatus males have distinct yellow heads, both L. manni and L. guttularis have gray heads and an unstriped dorsum, and in L. scortecci the head is cream or yellow striped. |
Comment | Habitat: hedgerows, small bushes, trees and fences covered by heavy vegetation; short fruit plants like pawpaw, mango, and citrus, among others. The species is strictly arboreal and is quite agile, jumping between nearby branches. Sympatry: Hemidactylus mabouia |
Etymology | The specific epithet wojnowskii is given in honour of Dr. David Wojnowski currently at Georgia State University, USA, who collected the two paratype specimens in June 2009. |
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