Ptenopus circumsyrticus BECKER, ALEXANDER & TOLLEY, 2025
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Ptenopus circumsyrticus?
Ptenopus circumsyrticus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Interdune barking gecko Afrikaans: Duinstraat blafgeitjie |
| Synonym | Ptenopus circumsyrticus BECKER, ALEXANDER & TOLLEY 2025: 303 Ptenopus garrulus – Brain 1962: fig. 3 (in part) Ptenopus garrulus maculatus – Haacke 1969: fig. 3b–c) (in part) Ptenopus garrulus maculatus – Haacke 1975: 225 |
| Distribution | Namibia (Karas Region) Type locality: interdunes plains south of the Kuiseb River from Gobabeb Research Station, Karas Region, Namibia (–23.57053, 15.03618, 415 m a.s.l.) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. NMNW R11394, adult male, collected from the by Francois S. Becker on 6 September 2022. Paratypes. NMNW R11395 (allotype, adult female), R11396 and R11622 (adult males), with the same collection details as the holotype; R11346 (adult male) and R11371 (adult female), collected near the type locality (–23.5697, 15.0388), by Francois S. Becker on 17 September 2021. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A moderately small Ptenopus (SVL max. 54.9 mm, mean 48.6 mm, n = 16) with a short tail (TL 62% [range 48–73] of SVL, n = 8) and a lean appearance. It is distinguished from P. kochi, P. carpi, and P. sceletus sp. nov. by being substantially smaller; toes being intermediately fringed laterally (vs. weakly fringed in P. carpi and P. sceletus sp. nov. and extensively fringed in P. kochi), with fringe length being at least half the breadth of the toe between fringes (vs. generally less than half in P. carpi and P. sceletus sp. nov., generally equal to in P. kochi), although fringing can be more extensive in specimens found in looser sand, such as close to Walvis Bay or Far East Dunes; by dorsal colour pattern, characterised by paired, large, subsymmetrical, light ovoid markings interspaced by dark blotches (vs. spotted pattern in P. kochi and banded pattern in P. carpi and P. sceletus sp. nov.). It is further distinct from P. carpi and P. sceletus sp. nov. by the nasals being more swollen and the nostrils partially covered by internal projections of the upper labials; from P. kochi by having fingers laterally fringed with pointed triangular scales (vs. elongated pointed scales in P. kochi), having white pigmented scales on entire ven- tral surface (vs. pink, unpigmented patches on the tail and limbs in P. kochi), and having MBSR 108–179 (vs. >180 in P. kochi), with finer lepidosis presenting in specimens found in looser sand. From congeners previously included in ‘P. garrulus’ it is distinguished by: The internasal scale usually being larger and broader than other species, with IN/INSBB being generally lower (median 4.5, range 3.6–5.8, but usually <4.7) than other species (usually >5.0); having higher RB/RH (median 1.27, usually >1.17) than P. adamanteus sp. nov., P. australis sp. nov., and P. garrulus (usually <1.17); having higher INS/NB (~1.61, usually >1.10) than P. adamanteus sp. nov., P. australis sp. nov., and P. garrulus (usually <1.20); having lower MBSR (median 144, usually <160) than P. kenkenses sp. nov. and P. garrulus (usually >160); higher IOS/MBSR (median 0.31, usually >0.25) than P. maculatus and P. garrulus (usually ≤0.25); having only one inernasal scale in contact with the rostral, while P. australis sp. nov. has three; having no pink, inpigmented scales on the soles (vs. some unpigmented scales in P. garrulus and P. australis sp. nov.). (Becker et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2993 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Distribution: for a map see Becker et al. 2025: 289 (Fig. 5). |
| Etymology | Named after the Latin adjective meaning “around the dune”. |
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