Pseudogonatodes guianensis PARKER, 1935
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Pseudogonatodes guianensis
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | Pseudogonatodes guianensis amazonicus VANZOLINI 1967 Pseudogonatodes guianensis guianensis PARKER 1935 |
| Common Names | E: Amazon Pigmy Gecko Portuguese: Briba, Lagartinho, Lagartinho-do-Folhiço, Lagartinho-Pequeno, Lagartixa |
| Synonym | Pseudogonatodes guianensis PARKER 1935: 514 Pseudogonatodes guianensis — WERMUTH 1965: 152 Pseudogonatodes amazonicus VANZOLINI 1967: 2 Pseudogonatodes guianensis — DUELLMAN 1978: 196 Pseudogonatodes guinanensis — KLUGE 1993 Pseudogonatodes guinanensis amazonicus — KLUGE 1995 Pseudogonatodes guinanensis — RÖSLER 1995: 171 Pseudogonatodes guianensis — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999 Pseudogonatodes guinanensis guinanensis — DE LISLE et al. 2013 (in error) Pseudogonatodes guianensis amazonicus VANZOLINI 1967 Pseudogonatodes amazonicus VANZOLINI 1967: 2 Pseudogonatodes amazonicus — HUEY & DIXON 1970 Pseudogonatodes guinanensis amazonicus — DE LISLE et al. 2013 (in error) |
| Distribution | Brazil (Amazonas, Pará, Acre, Roraima), Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Colombia, Venezuela (NE Bolívar, Amazonas), N Peru, Ecuador Type locality: Upper Cuyuni River, British Guyana. amazonicus: Brazil (Amazonas); Type locality: Igarapé Belem, rio Solimoes, Amazonas, Brasil). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.27.8 Holotype: MZUSP (given as DZSP) 13314 [amazonicus] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Dorsals granular. Digits short, fourth toe with five to seven (mostly six) subdigital lamellae, the third (counting from ungual sheath toward base of toe) largest; first toe with enlarged basal lamellae. Sole of foot with heterogeneous scales. Scales around midbody 86-105, 36-47 ventrals in a longitudinal row, 17-22 in a transverse row at midbody. Maximum SVL 30 mm (Avila-Pires 1995: 299 ff). Description. Sphaerodactyline gecko with maximum SVL in males of 28 mm (Dixon & Soini, 1975), in females of 30 mm (holotype, B M 1946.8.27.8). Head 0.18-0.22 (0.20 ± 0.01, n= 53) times SVL, except for the only juvenile in sample studied, in which it is 0.24 times SVL; 1.2-1.6 (1.45 ± 0.10, n= 54) times as long as wide; 1.2-1.7 (1.39 ± 0.12, n= 54) times as wide as high. Snout short, round, gently sloping toward top of head. Neck slightly narrower than head and body. Body cylindrical. Limbs relatively short, forelimbs 0.18-0.28 (0.24 ± 0.02, n= 29) times SVL, hind limbs 0.30-0.40 (0.33 ± 0.02, n= 21) times. Tail round in cross section, tapering toward tip, 0.7-1.0 (0.87 ± 0.07, n= 14) times SVL. Tongue relatively wide, slightly narrower anteriorly, covered with imbricate, scale-like papillae; tip round, slightly nicked medially. Teeth minute, conical, sub-equal. Rostral very large, distinctly visible from above; posterior part, between level of nostrils, with a shallow depression and a short median cleft. Three or four postrostrals usually present, lateral ones (supranasals) distinctly larger than, to as large as, medial one(s); specimens from Ecuador have four or five, occasionally seven, post-rostrals, usually median one distinctly indenting the rostral. Nostril bordered by rostral, first supralabial, two postnasals and lateral postrostral (supranasal). Postnasals distinctly larger than, to as large as, adjacent loreal scales. Scales on snout and on loreal region irregularly polygonal, flat, smooth anteriorly, gradually changing into granules posteriorly; all juxtaposed, decreasing i n size from snout toward top of head. Loreal scales 4-8 (mostly 5-7) in a longitudinal line between postnasals and orbit. Scales of supraorbital region granular, similar to those on top of head. Most of anterior and upper margin of eye forming a supraciliary flap, with two to five (usually three or four) enlarged scales. Supralabials 4-5, decreasing in size posteriorly, 3-5 to below centre of eye. Posterior upper and lateral parts of head with small, granular scales. Ear-opening small, from vertically or obliquely oval, to round. Mental large, with a rather straight to "V-shaped (vertex directed anteriorly) posterior margin, medially with a short cleft. Postmentals 3-7 (mostly 3-5), irregularly polygonal to round, smooth, juxtaposed, subequal or some larger than others. Scales on chin mostly granular, decreasing in size posteriorly; latero-posteriorly, near border of mouth, elongate. Infralabials 3-7, mostly 4-5, first or second reaching anterior level of eye, posterior ones decreasing sharply in size; 3-5 to below centre of eye. Scales on neck granular dorsally and laterally; throat with an abrupt change from an anterior region with granular scales, to a posterior one with scales like the ventrals. Dorsals granular, slightly larger than scales on top of head. Scales on flanks like the dorsals, distinctly different from ventrals, which are relatively large, flat, smooth, sub-rhomboid, imbricate; i n approximately longitudinal and oblique rows. Scales along a midventral line 36-47 (41.7 ± 2.9, n= 39) between anterior margin of forelimbs and vent; 17-22 (19.5 ± 1.3, n= 48) ventrals in a transverse row at midbody. Scales around midbody 86-105 (96.9 ± 4.6, n= 46). Scales on preanal plate similar to ventrals, except for scales on border of vent, which are smaller. Scales on tail similar to ventrals, slightly to distinctly smaller on dorsal and lateral surfaces. A midventral row may be distinct or not. There is a gradual transition between scales on the back and those on tail. Scales on anterior and upper surfaces of upper arms, on anterior and lower surfaces of forearms and thighs, and on lower and posterior surfaces of lower legs relatively large, flat, smooth, imbricate; elsewhere on limbs scales granular. Lamellae under fourth finger 5-6, occasionally 4, of which two (rarely) to four basal ones distinctly enlarged; under fourth toe 6, rarely 5 or 7, the four (rarely three or five) basal ones, or at least the most distal one (usually the third counting from ungual sheath toward base of toe) enlarged. Basal lamellae under first toe distinctly larger than others. Claws enclosed by an ungual sheath composed of five scales, as characteristic for the genus (Avila-Pires 1995: 299 ff). Colour in life. MPEG 15060 (male, Amapa) greyish-brown dorsally, with a middorsal dark stripe, more evident anteriorly, and a dorso-lateral dark stripe at each side that continues till base of tail; a very conspicuous light (cream) arc on posterior part of head; a group of beige stripes forming an " H " at level of hind limbs. Ventral region uniformly whitish, except for throat where there was a pattern of whitish and light grey irregular stripes. Iris brownish-grey with an orange rim around pupil. RMNH 25877 (male) and MPEG 15147 (female), both also from Amapa, were described as "brown with a whitish "U"-shaped band on top of head, more vivid in the male" (in preservative, both specimens present same pattern of stripes as MPEG 15060, but much less conspicuous). In RMNH 25878 (male) from Cruz Alta, Para, colour pattern in life similar to that of MPEG 15060. Head and body with dark greyish-brown (20) vertebral and dorsolateral bands, and fuscous (21) paravertebral and lateral bands, with whitish spots, and a whitish arc at posterior part of head; at level of hind limbs, a chrome-orange (16) dorsolateral stripe. Ventral region white under head, light greyish-brown with small white spots on belly. Iris brown with a narrow orange-brown rim around pupil. Tongue white with grey extremity. Among specimens from Benjamin Constant, Amazonas, RMNH 25879 (male) was dusky-brown (19) dorsally, with arc on top of head and "H"-shaped stripes at level of hind limbs hardly visible, only slightly paler than background colour; back with small groups of white scales dorsolaterally, three on one side, two on the other. Ventrally, head white with light greyish-brown markings, belly light greyish-brown, tail mainly dusky-brown. MPEG 15952 (male) presented a similar dorsal colour, with faint "H"-shaped stripes at level of hind limbs, and arc on top of head cinnamon-drab (219C); ventrally head white, belly dirty white medially, natal-brown (219A) ventrolaterally; underside of tail sepia (219) with a beige (219D) midventral area (becoming a line distally). MPEG 15910 (female) was raw-umber (223) dorsally, with arc on posterior part of head and " H " stripes at level of hind limbs sayal-brown (223C); ventral region brownish-white, under tail mostly brown with a greenish-blue iridescence. RMNH 25876, from Tabatinga, Amazonas, had back dark brown, with a lighter transverse band and lighter stripes above hind limbs; on flanks a row of white spots; chin and throat white; belly grey, lateral parts with orange-brown spots; lateral surfaces of tail also with orange-brown scales; iris reddish brown (field notes M.S. Hoogmoed) (Avila-Pires 1995: 299 ff). The colour in life of specimens from other localities are described by Hoogmoed (1973), Dixon & Soini (1975,1986), Duellman (1978), and Gasc (1981). Color in preservative: all specimens are predominantly brown dorsally, with a "U" or "W"-shaped light area on posterior part of head, starting on both sides at posterior border of eyes, and with a light stripe above each hind limb, completely or incompletely linked by a transverse line ("H"-shaped). Specimens from Amapa, Cruz Alta, Manaus, and Suriname, with a vertebral dark brown band (sometimes bordered on each side by thin darker brown lines), starting at posterior border of light arc of head, and usually continuing to base of tail; a dorsolateral dark brown band, on each side, from posterior border of eye to base of tail, narrower than vertebral bands; these three dark bands, but especially the vertebral band, with undulating margins. Dorsal surface of head in these specimens with irregular light brown spots. Specimens from Balbina, Maraa, Tabatinga, Benjamin Constant, Ecuador (RMNH 25S75) and Colombia either uniformly brown, or with faint, light brown spots along back and flanks, sometimes also with a very pale light dorsolateral stripe which may have transverse extensions dorsally; flanks may be slightly darker than back. Dorsal surface of head more uniformly brown than in preceding group. Ventrally, head either completely white, or peppered with brown spots; ventrolaterally it is always brown, with a white oblique stripe from level of eyes posteriorly. Throat sometimes with alternating, longitudinal, brown and white (or light) stripes. Belly mostly with scales peripherally brown, medially white (or light). Underside of tail with a light median area (brown and white) (Avila-Pires 1995: 299 ff). |
| Comment | Probably also in Bolivia (fide LANGSTROTH 2005). Key: HUEY & DIXON 1970 provide a key to the species of Pseudogonatodes. |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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