Lygodactylus arnei VENCES, HERRMANN, MULTZSCH, GIPPNER, RAZAFIMANAFO, NY ANDO RAHAGALALA, SANDRATRA RAKOTOMANGA, CROTTINI, GEHRING, RAKOTOARISON, GLAW & MIRALLES, 2025
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Lygodactylus arnei?
Lygodactylus arnei
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Lygodactylus arnei VENCES, HERRMANN, MULTZSCH, GIPPNER, RAZAFIMANAFO, NY ANDO RAHAGALALA, SANDRATRA RAKOTOMANGA, CROTTINI, GEHRING, RAKOTOARISON, GLAW & MIRALLES 2025: 315 |
| Distribution | NW Madagascar (Baie de Baly National Park) Type locality: Baie de Baly National Park, on a forested elongated hill North to South oriented, 16.035757°S, 45.268719°E, ca. 14 m a.s.l., northwestern Madagascar |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 64/2023 (field number FgzC 12012), male, collected between 05:30 and 07:30 pm, on 13 october 2023, by A. Miralles and N. A. rahagalala. Paratypes (n=17). zSM 63/2023 (FgzC 12011), from Baie de Baly National Park, same data as holotype. zSM 65/2023 (FgzC 12040), zSM 66/2023 (FgzC 12041), zSM 67/2023 (FgzC 12042), uADBA-FgzC 12039 (= MIrzC 1282), all four collected from the tsiombikibo Forest, in dry deciduous forest near the village of Benetsy, 15.941585°S 45.766811°E, ca. 15 m a.s.l., between 9:30 and 11:00 am on 17 october 2023, by A. Miralles and N. A. rahagalala. uADBA-FgzC 12050, collected from tsiombikibo Forest, in dry deciduous forest near the village of Benetsy, near a large temporary pond and a white sand area, 15.942476°S 45.776191°E, ca. 15 m a.s.l., between 06:30 and 09:00 pm on 17 october 2023, by A. Miralles and N. A. rahagalala. zSM 68/2023 (zCMV 15811), collected from tsingy de Namoroka National Park, Campsite 1, near a temporary lake located 500 m N to the Petit tsingy (east of massif), 16.43104°S 45.36611°E, ca. 120 m a.s.l., around 08:00 pm, on 7 october 2023 by A. Miralles, N. A. rahagalala, A. rakotoarison, D. razafimanafo and A. razafimanantsoa. zSM 71/2023 (zCMV 15840), uADBA-zCMV 15842, uADBA-zCMV 15843, uADBA-zCMV 15844, all four collected from the vicinity of tsingy de Namoroka National Park, in a gallery forest near a natural swimming pool (500 m to the north of the massif), 16.38244°S 45.34311°E, ca. 85 m a.s.l., between 7:00 am and 9:00 am, by A. Miralles, N. A. rahagalala, A. rakotoarison, D. razafimanafo and A. razafimanantsoa. zSM 72/2023 (zCMV 15856), zSM 73/2023 (zCMV 15860), uADBA-zCMV 15859, uADBA-zCMV 15861, all four collected from tsingy de Namoroka National Park, Campsite 2, near grand tsingy (south of the tsingy massif), 16.46933°S, 45.34853°E, ca. 130 m a.s.l., between 03:00 and 07:00 pm, on 10 october 2023, by A. Miralles, N. A. rahagalala, A. rakotoarison, D. razafimanafo and A. razafimanantsoa. uADBA-zCMV 15829, from tsingy de Namoroka National Park, Petit tsingy (east of the massif), 16.43541°S 45.36837°E, ca. 125 m a.s.l., between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, on 8 october 2023 by A. Miralles, N. A. rahagalala, A. rakotoarison, D. razafimanafo and A. razafimanantsoa. zSM 296/2018, from tsingy de Namoroka National Park, forest near caves, Petit tsingy (east of the massif), donated by H.-P. Berghof, collected in 2018 by local collectors. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Lygodactylus arnei sp. nov. is characterized as 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; absence of whorls on the tail, and a typical appearance of the head with relatively large eyes. within the L. tolampyae complex, the species (at least the Namoroka population) appears to be characterized by an orange color on the ventral surface of tail, and light orange sometimes on venter and chest (whitish in all other species of the complex). Further differences, although usually with overlap of values, are as follows: distinguished from L. andavambato by a less slender appearance (vs. conspicuously slender appearance), absence of regular dark–light alternating crossbands of similar width on tail (vs. presence), 1–2 internasal scales (vs. 3 internasals in most specimens), a smaller relative eye diameter (ratio ED/SVl 0.06–0.07 vs. 0.05 in most specimens), and a lower longitudinal count of ventral scales (lCVS 102–111 vs. 110–115); from L. herilalai by a lower number of infralabials (5–6 vs. 7 in most specimens) and supralabials (7–8 vs. 9 in most individuals); from L. schwitzeri by a lower longitudinal count of dorsal scales in most specimens (lCDS 224–258 vs. 241–271); and from L. tolampyae by a larger posterior contact between mental and first infralabial scale (relative PMS 25.7–61.7 vs. 15.5–47.2). we did not note any meaningful differentiation in meristic or morphometric characters from L. morii. From a molecular perspective, the new species is characterized by numerous diagnostic nucleotide positions in the mitochondrial 16S rrNA gene (see table 2). (Vences et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3958 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after wildlife photographer and gecko specialist Arne Hartig, in recognition for his contributions to the exploration of Madagascar’s gecko fauna and the important support he provided for this study by making photos and information from his previous Namoroka expeditions available. |
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