Phyllodactylus delsolari VENEGAS, TOWNSEND, KOCH & BÖHME, 2008
Find more photos by Google images search:
Higher Taxa | Phyllodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Phyllodactylus delsolari VENEGAS, TOWNSEND, KOCH & BÖHME 2008 Phyllodactylus delsolari — AURICH et al. 2015 |
Distribution | Peru (Amazonas, Cajamarca, La Libertad) Type locality: 7 km east of Balsas, 1,400 m elevation, Departamento de Amazonas, Peru (6.847°S, 77.986°W) |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: UF 50059, an adult female, Florida State Museum of Natural History, collected 29 April 1972 by F. G. Thompson, original field number FGT 1508. Paratypes: ZFMK 85001 and 85003 (females), and ZFMK 85002 (male) |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Of the Phyllodactylus found in western South America, P. delsolari is one of two ‘‘giant’’ species, the other being P. reissi. Both P. delsolari and P. reissi exceed 70 mm SVL, with no other species from the region exceeding 60 mm SVL. Phyllodactylus delsolari can be readily distinguished from P. reissi by having fewer than 10 poorly defined rows of small, smooth, round tubercles (12–18 well-defined rows of enlarged, trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles in P. reissi), and by having broad, well-defined dark dorsal cross-bands (no crossbands or sometimes incomplete, dark, irregular, narrow cross-bands in P. reissi). There are two other species of ‘‘giant’’ Phyllodactylus recorded from mainland South America: P. dixoni and P. ventralis. Both of these species may exceed 70 mm SVL and are found in central Venezuela and along the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Venezuela, respectively. Phyllodactylus delsolari can be distinguished from P. dixoni and P. ventralis by having poorly defined, irregular rows of small, smooth, round tubercles (welldefined, regular rows of enlarged, trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles in P. dixoni and P. ventralis). This species can be further differentiated from all other Phyllodactylus found in South America as follows (Table 1): from P. angustidigitus, P. gerrhopygus, and P. heterurus by lacking an abdominal plaque (abdominal plaque present in aforementioned species); from P. clinatus, P. interandinus, P. johnwrighti, P. kofordi, P. lepidopygus, P. pumilis, and P. sentosus by having fewer than 10 poorly defined rows of enlarged, smooth, round tubercles (14–22 rows of enlarged trihedral tubercles in P. interandinus, 10– 16 rows of enlarged keeled or trihedral tubercles in the other aforementioned species); from P. microphyllus by having large terminal lamellae (small terminal lamellae in P. microphyllus); and from P. inaequalis by having ear denticulation on the anterior and posterior edges (ear denticulation absent in P. inaequalis). There is one other species of South American Phyllodactylus that has broad, dark dorsal cross-bands, P. transversalis, which is endemic to Isla de Malpelo, but it lacks ear denticulation (inside of ear strongly denticulate on the anterior and posterior edges in P. delsolari) and is not reported to exceed 57 mm SVL. |
Comment | |
Etymology | The specific name is a patronym honoring Gustavo del Solar, in recognition of his continued and unattenuated work in the conservation of the White Winged Guan, Penelope albipennis, a critically endangered species of Cracid bird that is endemic to northwestern Peru. |
References |
|
External links |