Pristurus guichardi ARNOLD, 1986
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Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Guichard's Rock Gecko |
Synonym | Pristurus guichardi ARNOLD 1986 Pristurus guichardi — KLUGE 1993 Pristurus guichardi — RÖSLER 2000: 106 Pristurus guichardi — RAZZETTI et al. 2011 |
Distribution | Socotra Island (endemic) Type locality: Haggier, Socotra Island (12° 32’ N, 54° 02’E). |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: BMNH 1953.1. 7.82 (male); Paratypes (2): 5, Jena-agahan, BMNH 99.12.5.21/1946.8.20.7, W. R. O. Grant and H. O. Forbes, 1.1899 (one of the paratypes of P. socotranus Parker, 1938); female. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A moderately small species of Pristurus sharing the following features with most or all P. socotranus: fairly slender build; frontal bone with lateral down-growths meeting and fusing on the midline and a well-developed, ventrally directed process extending onto each nasal capsule; palatal section . of premaxilla with a W -shaped hind margin, nasal process of premaxilla quite short, not reaching level of anterior margins of orbits; clear contact between palatal sections of maxillae behind premaxilla; 24 or 23 presacral vertebrae with the lateral sections of the anterior zygapophyses only folded slightly over the posterior zygopophyses of the adjoining vertebra; 3 sternal and 2 or 3 xiphisternal ribs; nostril situated between the rostral, a supranasal and two superposed postnasal scales; subtibial scales strongly enlarged, tail compressed in males, with a dorsal crest. Differs from P. socotranus in its flatter snout, absence of enlarged scales on the dorsal edge of the palpebral fold, which is not strongly developed, finer scaling on the body (127-172 scales around midbody compared with 113-124 in P. socotranus), very weak dorsal tail crest made up of two rows of scales in males and no ventral crest, and in colouring (predominantly greyish not brownish, without simple light dorsal stripes, with dark transverse markings on head and neck). P. guicbardi is probably also smaller than P. socotranus (largest specimen 34 mm from snout to vent compared with 39 mm) [ARNOLD 1986]. |
Comment | |
Etymology | Named after Kenneth M. Guichard who collected one of the paratypes (in 1967) and much other important herpetological material in Socotra, Arabia and North Africa. |
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