Pachydactylus werneri HEWITT, 1935
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Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Werner's Thick-toed Gecko |
Synonym | Pachydactylus capensis werneri HEWITT 1935: 315 Pachydactylus capensis weberi HEWITT 1935: 315 [Pachydactylus capensis gariesensis — HEWITT 1935: 315 Pachydactylus werneri — FITZSIMONS 1943: 85 Pachydactylus weberi werneri — LOVERIDGE 1947: 394 Pachydactylus werneri — LOVERIDGE 1947: 394 Pachydactylus werneri — WERMUTH 1965: 124 Pachydactylus werneri — BAUER et al. 2006 Pachydactylus werneri — CONRADIE et al. 2019 |
Distribution | Namibia (Maltahöhe, Swakopmund, Karibib Districts); elevation usually below 1000 m. Type locality: Khan River, north of Walfisch Bay, Southwest Africa. |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Lectotype: PEM R 16049 (formerly AM 6613 (part)), coll. R. D. Bradfield (designated by BAUER et al. 2006). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: To 52.6 mm SVL. Pachydactylus werneri may be distinguished from all other members of the P. serval/weberi group by the combination of the following characters: rostral (and in some cases first supralabial) excluded from nostril; supranasals in variable contact; nostril rims distinctly raised; eyes very large, rostrum pointed; scales on dorsum of head granular, those on snout much larger than those of interorbital region; dorsal scalation heterogewith relatively small keeled tubercles arranged in 16–18 regular rows; tubercle tips and/or keels often white; thighs with few, small, scattered, keeled to mucronate tubercles; limbs and toes very elongate, slender, toe pads wide; typically 5 undivided lamellae beneath digit IV of pes; tail to approximately 90% SVL; moderately annulate, bearing whorls of small, keeled, strongly pointed, white-tipped tubercles; adult pattern of diffuse, dark-edged light bands: one on nape, one behind axilla, one on mid-trunk, and one anterior to sacrum; pale bands often not, or barely, lighter than grayish- or pinkish-brown background coloration, pattern often disrupted and appearing as a series of irregular brown cross bands or spots; juvenile pattern similar to adult with four light cross bands (Girard 2002), although often only the nape band is prominent [from BAUER et al. 2006]. |
Comment | Synonymy partly after WERMUTH 1965 and BAUER et al. (2006). Specimens from other areas in Namibia have been described as new species by BAUER et al. (2006). Distribution: see map in BRANCH et al. 2011. HABITAT: The specimens of Pachydactylus werneri that BAUER et al. (2006) collected were active at night on rock faces along the north bank of the Swakop River, and Mertens (1955) found a specimen under a stone. However, according to Mirko Barts (pers. comm., May 2004 cited in BAUER et al. 2006) the species is not typically rupicolous and is chiefly active on riverine vegetation. |
Etymology | Named after Professor Dr. Franz Josef Maria Werner (1867-1939), an Austrian explorer, zoologist, and herpetologist who worked at Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. |
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