Lygodactylus herilalai VENCES, MULTZSCH, ZEBE, GIPPNER, ANDREONE, CROTTINI, GLAW, KÖHLER, RAKOTOMANGA, RASAMISON & RASELIMANANA, 2024
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Lygodactylus herilalai
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Lygodactylus herilalai VENCES, MULTZSCH, ZEBE, GIPPNER, ANDREONE, CROTTINI, GLAW, KÖHLER, RAKOTOMANGA, RASAMISON & RASELIMANANA 2024: 436 |
| Distribution | Madagascar (Ankarafantsika National Park) Type locality: Ampondrabe forest, Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar (geographical coordinates 16.3343°S, 46.8987°E, 223 m a.s.l.) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 161/2022 (ZCMV 15707), adult female (Fig. 8, 10), collected by S. Rakotomanga and S. Rasamison on 13 November 2022. Paratypes. Three specimens: ZSM 160/2022 (ZCMV 15706), male, with same collection data as holotype; UADBA-APR 7501, male, collected by A.P. Raselimanana at Ampondrabe forest, Ankarafantsika National Park (16.325°S, 46.923°E, 270 m a.s.l.), on 2 December 2006; UADBA-APR 7588, male, collected by A.P. Raselimanana at Andasiravina forest, Ankarafantsika National Park (16.303°S, 46.930°E, 150 m a.s.l.), on 12 December 2006. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: L. herilalai sp. nov. is characterized as a member of the L. tolampyae complex (and thereby distinguishable from all other Malagasy Lygodactylus not belonging to the complex) by combination of a mental scale semi-divided by a suture, broad contact of the posterior projection of the mental scale with the first infralabial scale, and three postmental scales; furthermore, characterized by absence of whorls on the tail, and a typical look of the head with relatively large eyes. According to the limited data available, it appears to be distinguished from L. tolampyae sensu stricto (as defined herein; mitochondrial lineages A+B and possibly G) by higher mean and maximum counts of dorsal scales despite wide range overlap (mean 245 vs. 229; ranges 229–262 vs. 204–241; not statistically tested due to low sample size of n=3 in L. herilalai sp. nov.), possibly by a tendency towards broader posterior contact between mental scale and first infralabial scale, and by fewer (1 vs. 2–3) internasal scales in a high proportion of individuals. The new species is most similar morphologically to the syntopic L. morii, with no differentiating morphological characters known; however, the two species differ strongly in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. The new species can be differentiated from L. morii and all other lineages in the L. tolampyae complex by numerous diagnostic nucleotide positions in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene: MolD identified a robust diagnostic nucleotide combination of a ‘C’ in the site 959, ‘A’ in the site 1017, ‘T’ in the site 1042 (positions relative to the full 16S rRNA gene of Phelsuma guimbeaui). (Vences et al. 2024) Additional details (2707 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Herilala Jean Aimé Rudolph Randriamahazo, Malagasy field herpetologist and conservation biologist, in recognition for his contributions to our understanding of the ecology of various reptile species in Ankarafantsika National Park, and to the conservation of Malagasy amphibians and reptiles. The species epithet is a noun in the genitive case. |
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