Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi MCCRANIE & HEDGES, 2012
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Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi
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| Higher Taxa | Sphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Roatan Small-scaled Geckolet |
| Synonym | Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2012 Sphaerodactylus continentalis — MEYER & WILSON 1973:12 (part) Sphaerodactylus continentalis — WILSON & HAHN 1973:105 (part) Sphaerodactylus millepunctatus — HARRIS & KLUGE 1984:17 (part) Sphaerodactylus millepunctatus — GRISMER et al. 2001:135 Sphaerodactylus millepunctatus — MCCRANIE et al. 2005:80 (part) Sphaerodactylus millepunctatus — MCCRANIE et al. 2006:110 (part) |
| Distribution | Honduras (Isla de Roatán: Bahia) Type locality: Palmetto Bay, 16.359033°, -86.486717°, Isla de Roatán, Islas de la Bahía, Honduras, elevation 0 m (near sea level) |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual and phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: FMNH 282785, an adult male, collected 22 May 2011 by James R. McCranie and Leonardo Valdés Orellana. Paratypes (13). FMNH 282786–88, USNM 579988–89, same locality as holotype; FMNH 282791 (genetic sample 3, JX073109, JX073120), USNM 579990–93, from Camp Bay, 16.429467°, -86.286300°; FMNH 282789 (genetic sample 1, JX073110, JX073121), 282790 (genetic sample 2, JX073111, JX073122), from 1 km E of Pollytilly Bight, 16.406300°, -86.388083°; all adults from Isla de Roatán and collected 21–22 May 2011 by James R. McCranie and Leonardo Valdés Orellana or 18–19 November 2011 by McCranie. USNM 579987, juvenile from Palmetto Bay, Isla de Roatán, collected 18 November 2011 by McCranie. Appendices II and III list other specimens for this new species. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi can be distinguished from S. millepunctatus (sensu stricto), the species it was previously identified as, and from S. continentalis, herein removed from the synonymy of S. millepunctatus, in usually having a short pale longitudinal line located above each pelvic area that frequently curves slightly inward posteriorly, in having scattered dark dorsal spots that occupy single scales, and in having indistinct lines on the head and body (versus short pelvic lines absent, dark dorsal spots on body occupying more than one scale, and dark lines distinct on posterior end of head and anterior part of body in S. millepunctatus and S. continentalis). Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi also differs from S. millepunctatus in having smaller and more numerous dorsal scales (58–66, x = 61.7 ± 2.7 dorsal scales between levels of axilla and groin in 13 S. leonardovaldesi versus 42–57, x = 51.7 ± 5.0 in 15 S. millepunctatus) and also differs from S. continentalis in having fewer scales around the midbody (48–67, x = 59.8 ± 6.0 in 13 S. leonardovaldesi versus 64–80, x = 71.9 ± 4.8 in 20 S. continentalis). Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi occurs sympatrically with one other species of Sphaerodactylus, S. rosaurae Parker of the S. copei species group (Schwartz and Garrido 1981), but is most easily distinguished from that species in having all dorsal body scales of a similar size (versus middorsal row of granular scales that are sharply and distinctly differentiated from the much larger surrounding dorsal scales in S. rosaurae). Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi differs from the second new species described herein in having more subdigital lamellae under the fourth toes and fourth fingers (9–12, x = 10.2 ± 0.8 and 8–10, x = 9.0 ± 0.4 on 26 sides, respectively, and 36–42, x = 38.5 ± 1.6 fourth digits combined versus 8–9, x = 8.6 ± 0.5 and 7–8, x = 7.6 ± 0.5 on 12 sides, respectively, and 31–34, x = 32.3 ± 1.5 fourth digits combined in the second new species) and in not having the pelvic stripes connected with its counterpart on the other side (versus pelvic lines usually connected [narrowly divided in one of seven] in the second new species). Sphaerodactylus leonardovaldesi also differs from S. millepunctatus, S. continentalis, and the second new species described herein, in an amount of cytochrome b DNA sequence divergence (7.7–10.1 %; Fig. 1) comparable to that seen among other species of lizards (Johns & Avise 1998; Hedges & Conn 2012). |
| Comment | Synonymy after MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2012. Habitat: in leaf litter during the morning and afternoon; the species was also found under leaf litter, palm fronds, rocks, brush piles, and other debris on the ground. |
| Etymology | The specific name leonardovaldesi is a patronym honoring Leonardo Valdés Orellana, an enthusiastic Honduran biologist who was instrumental in collecting part of the type series of this new species as well as other populations of the Sphaerodactylus millepunctatus complex over the last three years. |
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