Phyllodactylus pachamama KOCH, FLECKS, VENEGAS, BIALKE, VALVERDE & RÖDDER, 2016
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Phyllodactylus pachamama
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| Higher Taxa | Phyllodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Phyllodactylus pachamama KOCH, FLECKS, VENEGAS, BIALKE, VALVERDE & RÖDDER 2016 Phyllodactylus reissii — KOCH et al. 2006 Phyllodactylus reissii — VENEGAS et al. 2008 Phyllodactylus reissii — KOCH et al. 2011 Phyllodactylus reissii — AURICH et al. 2011 Phyllodactylus reissii ― TORRES-CARVAJAL et al. 2014 (partim) Phyllodactylus reissii — AURICH et al. 2015 (partim) |
| Distribution | Peru (Amazonas) Type locality: Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°50’45.0’’S, 77°59’47.9’’W, 1271 m elevation |
| Reproduction | oviparous. Three gravid females (CORBIDI 5700; ZFMK 90885, 91725) were collected in mid April (2009 and 2010), each contained two eggs. On 10 July 2005, a gravid female (ZFMK 85005) was collected which contained only one egg. Two juveniles with a SVL of 31 mm (ZFMK 90889) and 32 mm (ZFMK 90891) were found in December 2009. Most gravid females of the species examined by Aurich et al. (2015) also contained two eggs (Koch et al. 2016). |
| Types | Holotype: ZFMK 90886, adult male, collected on 26 April 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch. Paratypes (24). An adult male (ZFMK 85004) and an adult female (ZFMK 85005) from Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°48’26’’S, 77°59’29’’W, 1000 m a.s.l.), collected on 10 July 2005 by P. Venegas and C. Koch; three adult females (CORBIDI 5700, 5701; ZFMK 90885) from Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°51’ S, 78°01’ W, 896900 m a.s.l.), collected on 15 April 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch; an adult male (CORBIDI 7710) and a subadult male (ZFMK 91727) from Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°51’ S, 78°02’ W, 870919 m a.s.l.), collected on 30 March 2010 by J. Aurich and L. Y. Echevarria Espinosa; an adult female (ZFMK 91725) from Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°50’56.7’’ S, 78°01’32.4’’ W, 895 m a.s.l.), collected on 15 April 2010 by J. Aurich and L. Y. Echevarria Espinosa; four adult males (CORBIDI 7711, 7712; ZFMK 91724, 91726) and a subadult female (ZFMK 91728) from Balsas, Province of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°51’ S, 78°01’ W, 920 m a.s.l.), collected on 2729 May 2010 by J. Aurich and C. Laandauro Sanabria; two adult males (CORBIDI 5703; ZFMK 90890), two adult females (CORBIDI 5704, 5705), and a juvenile (ZFMK 90889) from Zapatalgo, Province of Utcubamba, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°05’ S, 78°29’ W, 8301030 m a.s.l.) collected on 68 December 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch; an adult male (CORBIDI 5706) and a subadult female (ZFMK 90892) from Zapatalgo, Province of Utcubamba, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°04’ S, 78°30’ W, 907 m a.s.l.) collected on 10 December 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch; a juvenile (ZFMK 90891) from Zapatalgo, Province of Utcubamba, Department of Amazonas, Peru (6°06’05.2’’ S, 78°29’54.5’’ W, 521 m a.s.l.) collected on 9 December 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch; two adult males (ZFMK 90887, 90888) and an adult female (CORBIDI 5702) from San Vicente/Pusac, Province of Bolívar, Department of La Libertad, Peru (6°59’ S, 77°55’ W, 14251432 m a.s.l.) collected on 22 April 2009 by A. Garcia Bravo and C. Koch. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis and comparison. Phyllodactylus pachamama sp. nov. is a comparatively large species with a maximum SVL of 77 mm. Among species of Phyllodactylus found in mainland South America only P. delsolari, P. dixoni, P. reissii and P. ventralis exceed 70 mm SVL. Thus, this species can be distinguished from all other species by its larger size. In lacking an enlarged postanal plate it further differs from P. thompsoni and by the absence of a preanal plate it can be distinguished from P. angustidigitus, P. gerrhopygus, and P. heterurus. By having 10-16 well-defined rows of enlarged, trihedral keeled tubercles, the new species differs from P. angustidigitus, P. gerrhopygus, P. heterurus (dorsal tubercles absent in all three species), P. delsolari, P. inaequalis (fewer than 10 poorly defined rows of small, smooth, round tubercles in both species), P. microphyllus (dorsal tubercular rows indistinct, composed of small flat, oval tubercles), and P. thompsoni (10). By having 43-56 paravertebral tubercles between rear of head and posterior edge of thigh it differs from P. interandinus (54-83), P. kofordi (31-36), P. pumilus (37-43), P. sentosus (26-31), and P. thompsoni (36-40). Phyllodactylus pachamama can be distinguished from P. heterurus, P. kofordi, P. pumilus, and P. sentosus by lacking tubercles on the base of tail. By the presence of tubercles on the tibia this species can further be differentiated from P. angustidigitus, P. clinatus, P. delsolari, P. gerrhopygus, P. inaequalis, P. interandinus, P. lepidopygus, and P. microphyllus. By the absence of tubercles on the thigh it can be distinguished from P. dixoni, P. kofordi, P. pumilus, P. sentosus, and P. ventralis. By the absence of tubercles on the forearm it can be differentiated from P. dixoni, P. kofordi, P. sentosus, and P. ventralis. From P. angustidigitus, P. microphyllus, and P. sentosus the new species further differs by having large terminal lamellae. It can be distinguished by the number of lamellae under the fourth toe (14-17, mean 15.1) from P. dixoni (11-13, mean 11.3), P. inaequalis (10-12, mean 10.7), P. johnwrighti (7-14, mean 10.5), P. kofordi (11-13, mean 11.5), P. leoni (9-13, mean 10.9), P. lepidopygus (10-14, mean 11.5), and P. pumilus (11-13, mean 12.0). 40 % of specimens have 3 postmentals compared to only 1.9 % in P. reissii. In contrast to P. johnwrighti and P. pumilus (dark stripe from nostril to arm insertion always present), the postnasal and postorbital brown stripes in P. pachamama is usually absent or, if present, poorly defined. |
| Comment | Habitat: seasonally dry forest, occurring in xeric habitats dominated by less dense shrubs and cacti (e.g. Armatocereus, Browningia, Espostoa) Behavior: Individuals of this nocturnal gecko were active between 6.25 pm and 11.35 pm and mostly found on rock walls or house walls in heights up to about 3 m above the ground. Some individuals were also found running over sandy ground next to the Marañón River. Only one male individual (CORBIDI 5703) was found during the day hidden under some logs. During their active hours, air temperatures ranged from 23.0 to 29.7° C, substrate temperatures ranged from 20.7 to 30.0° C and air humidity ranged from 41 to 71%. Diet: Aurich et al. (2011) examined the stomach contents of 8 individuals of P. pachamama from Balsas (referred to as P. reissii), which contained exclusively arthropod material, dominated by coleopterans, which made up 40% of all prey items. Sympatry: In Balsas and San Vicente this species occurs sympatrically with the congeners P. delsolari and P. thompsoni, and with Phyllopezus maranjonensis, whereas in Zapatalgo it was found sympatrically with the sphaerodactylid Pseudogonatodes barbouri. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet pachamama is derived from the Quechuan language and can be translated as Mother Earth. It represents the name of a goddess revered by indigenous people from South America, and in particular from Andean regions. According to many believers, problems will arise when people take too much from nature, because they are stealing it from Pachamama. This name was chosen to emphasize the need for protected areas along the Marañón river and blames the numerous ongoing mining and dam construction activities for exploiting this unique habitat. |
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