Urocotyledon rasmusseni BAUER & MENEGON, 2006
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Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Rasmussen's Gecko |
Synonym | Urocotyledon rasmusseni BAUER & MENEGON 2006 Urocotyledon rasmusseni — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 126 |
Distribution | Tanzania (Udzungwa Mountains) Type locality: Tanzania, Iringa Province, Udzungwa Mountains, Mbatwa Ranger Post, Udzungwa Mountains National Park (7°35’44”S, 36°37’35”E), 1188 m elevation. |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: MTSN 8224, adult female, Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali; 15 September 2004. Coll. Michele Menegon. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A small Urocotyledon; Urocotyledon rasmusseni may be distinguished from all other members of the genus on the basis of: a lack of enlarged postmental scales (present in U. wolterstorffi and U. inexpectata), presence of denticulate ventrolateral tail mar- gins (absent in U. wolterstorffi and U. inexpectata), dermal fold or web on posterior face of hind limb absent (present in U. palmata), four undivided lamellae under fourth toe (versus 7- 12 in all other species; Stejneger 189; Tornier 1900; Müller 1909; Loveridge 1947; Spawls et al. 2002) and rostral cleft present (absent in all other species; contra Loveridge 1947). It also differs in color pattern from all other species (see Müller 1910; Perret 196, fig. 2, Spawls et al. 2002, fig. p. 119; Branch 2005, fig. p. 105). Urocotyledon rassmuseni may be more specif- ically differentiated from U. wolterstorffi, its only East African mainland congener, in having much smaller claws, a reduced number of transverse lamellae under the digits (4 under digit IV of pes versus 8-12; Loveridge 1959; Spawls et al. 2002), a convex (versus concave) snout profile, granular scales on the dorsal sur- face of the digits, above the enlarged terminal scansors (versus smooth, flattened scales), a dorsal pattern of longitudinally oriented whitish-grey diamonds or chevrons (versus transverse whitish bands or series of spots, see Spawls et al. 2002, fig. p. 119; Branch 2005, fig. p. 105), and a pale coppery-beige iris (ver- sus dark orange fide Spawls et al. 2002) [from BAUER & MENEGON 2005]. |
Comment | Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. |
Etymology | named after Jens Bødtker Rasmussen of the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen (1947-2005). |
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