Lygodactylus expectatus PASTEUR & BLANC, 1968
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Lygodactylus expectatus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ambilobe Dwarf Gecko |
| Synonym | Lygodactylus (Domerguella) expectatus PASTEUR & BLANC 1968: 587 Lygodactylus expectatus — KLUGE 1993 Lygodactylus expectatus — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 285 Lygodactylus (Domerguella) expectatus — RÖSLER 2000: 92 Lygodactylus expectatus — PUENTE et al. 2009: 13 Lygodactylus expectatus — RÖLL et al. 2010 Lygodactylus expectatus — GIPPNER et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | N Madagascar (Ambilobe) Type locality: Karst d’Ambilobe, 12 km NNW Ankarana, District Ambilobe, N Madagascar. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 1990.0001 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: An apparent endemic of limestone karst areas of northern Madagascar, rather small-sized compared to related species. It can clearly be assigned to the L. madagascariensis group by sharing the characters listed in the group definition above. It differs from all species in the L. madagascariensis group by its dorsolateral scales which are enlarged relative to the dorsal and lateral scales (not distinctly enlarged in the other species), and by the presence of two dark spots in the region of the neck (not distinct in the other species). L. expectatus also appears to attain smaller maximum sizes (adult SVL 27.0–29.7 mm vs. a maximum size larger than 30 mm in all other species in the group). Furthermore distinguished from L. miops and especially L. guibei by the absence (vs. presence) of dorsolateral tubercles and spiny tubercles at the tail base, and from L. rarus by the absence of distinct broad crossbands on tail. (PUENTE et al. 2009) |
| Comment | Habitat. According to Pasteur & Blanc (1967), L. expectatus occurs in the shelter of vegetation in rocky areas. We found this species at Ankarana during the day on trees around the karstic rocks, at ca. 1–2 m from the ground. Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). The publication date is 1968, not 1967, fide Frétey 2023. |
| Etymology | From Latin expectatus = expected. As explained in the original description, G. Pasteur and C.P. Blanc were expecting to find a new species, closely related to L. madagascariensis, in the karstic regions of Ambilobe. |
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