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A New Species of Pachydactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Otavi Highlands of Northern Namibia

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A New Species of Pachydactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Otavi Highlands of Northern Namibia Bonn zoological Bulletin Volume 57 Issue 2 pp. 257–266 Bonn, November 2010 A new species of Pachydactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Otavi Highlands of northern Namibia Aaron M. Bauer Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA; E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. A new species of the “northwestern clade” of Pachydactylus is described from the Otavi Highlands of north- eastern Namibia. It is distinguishable from all other members of this clade and from the superficially similar members of the Pachydactylus serval/weberi group on the basis of its inclusion of the rostral in the nostril rim, the possession of a maximum of only four undivided scansors beneath the digits of the pes, is 16 rows of strongly keeled, rounded, juxta- posed dorsal trunk tubercles, its projecting, keeled, lanceolate caudal tubercles, and its complex dorsal trunk patterning. Its probable closest relative is P. otaviensis, also form the Otavi Highlands. These are the only known endemic reptiles from this dolomitic area and their existence points both to an unappreciated area of diversity and endemism in northeast- ern Namibia and to the need for additional herpetological work in even well-known parts of the country. Key words. Gekkonidae, Pachydactylus, Namibia, new species. INTRODUCTION Pachydactylus Wiegmann, 1834 is the most species-rich northwestern Botswana, and P. otaviensis Bauer, Lamb & genus of geckos in southern Africa, with more than 50 Branch, 2006 and an undescribed species (‘Pachydacty- species currently recognized (Bauer & Lamb 2005; Bauer lus sp. 2’, Bauer et al. 2006a) – both from the Otavi High- et al. 2006a, 2006b; Branch et al. 2010). Although all parts lands (Otaviberge) of northeastern Namibia. Bauer & of the subcontinent are inhabited by members of this Lamb (2005) and Bauer et al. (2006a) used molecular phy- group, the arid zones of Namibia the adjacent portions of logenetic data to confirm that the first three of these the Northern Cape Province of South Africa have the high- species comprise a monophyletic group that is sister to the est diversity. A minimum of 35 species of Pachydactylus rest of the P. serval/weberi group. However, recent mul- occur in the Republic of Namibia alone, the majority of ti-gene phylogenetic analyses incorporating all but one of which are endemic (Branch 1998; Bauer et al. 2002, the recognized species of Pachydactylus (Heinicke, Jack- 2006a; Branch et al. 2010). Most of these fall into one of man & Bauer, unpublished) have demonstrated that P. two species-rich clades that have been previously identi- otaviensis is not a member of the P. serval/weberi clade fied: the Pachydactylus serval/weberi group and the (these phylogenetic results will be presented in their en- “northwestern clade” of Pachydactylus (sensu Bauer & tirety elsewhere), but rather part of the “northwestern Lamb 2005). Most species in both clades are relatively clade”, which otherwise comprises ten morphologically small-bodied, rupicolous species. Most members of the P. diverse species that are widely distributed in Namibia and serval/weberi group are restricted to southern Namibia and southern Angola, with a single species, P. punctatus Pe- the Northern Cape, with the greatest richness along the ters, 1854, extending southwards into South Africa and lower Orange River Valley and in the Karasberg Moun- east to the Indian Ocean coast of Mozambique (Bauer & tains, where up to five members of the group occur sym- Branch 1995). patrically. However, five members assigned to the group have been found north of 21°S latitude: P. fasciatus Excluding P. punctatus, P. otaviensis has the easternmost Boulenger, 1888 – widely distributed in northwestern distribution of any member of the “northwestern clade”, Namibia east of the Namib and north of the Swakop Riv- being known only from the farms Uithoek and Varianto, er, P. waterbergensis Bauer & Lamb, 2003 – endemic to both in the Tsumeb District, Oshikoto Region in the east- the immediate vicinity of the Waterberg Plateau. ern Otavi Highlands (quarter degree square 1917Bc; Fig. P. tsodiloensis Haacke, 1966 – in the Tsodilo Hills of 1). A second species from the Otavi Highlands was sig- Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 257–266 ©ZFMK 258 Aaron M. Bauer Table 1. Mensural and labial scale data for the type series of Pachydactylus boehmei sp.n. Abbreviations as in Materials and Me- thods, all measurements in mm. Holotype Paratypes MCZ R184884 MCZ R184880 MCZ R184881 MCZ R184882 MCZ R184883 Sex female female female male female SVL 44.4 43.21 44.0 35.4 34.8 ForeaL 6.6 6.8 6.6 5.4 4.7 CrusL 7.9 7.9 8.6 5.5 5.9 TailL (total) 44.5 6.9 39.0 35.8 30.3 TailL (regen.) – BR 33.4 – 21.6 TailW 4,8 4.7 4.7 3.9 3.5 TrunkL 21.0 18.8 19.0 15.6 13.8 HeadL 13.7 14.1 13.0 11.5 12.0 HeadW 8.3 8.3 9.0 6.9 7.2 HeadD 5.0 5.3 5.3 3.8 4.0 OrbD 3.5 3.8 3.8 2.8 3.3 EyeEar 3.4 3.7 3.2 2.9 2.5 SnEye 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.2 4.2 NarEye 3.7 3.9 3.6 2.9 3.0 Interorb 4.4 4.3 3.9 3.6 3.0 EarL 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.7 Internar 1.4 1.1 1.3 1.0 1.2 Supralab. (L/R) 10/9 11/10 10/10 9/9 10/10 Infralab. (L/R) 7/7 8/8 7/8 8/8 9/8 naled by Bauer et al. (2006a) as “Pachydactylus sp. 2”, throat), ear length (EarL; longest dimension of ear); fore- but was not described as it was known only from one ju- arm length (ForeaL; from base of palm to elbow); orbital venile and one hatchling, making meaningful comparisons diameter (OrbD), nostril to eye distance (NarEye; distance with other species difficult. However, Bauer et al. between anteriormost point of eye and nostril), snout to (2006a) noted that it exhibited some features shared with eye distance (SnEye; distance between anteriormost the P. weberi complex sensu stricto and others with the point of eye and tip of snout), eye to ear distance (Eye- P. serval complex, and that it possessed a unique and di- Ear; distance from anterior edge of ear opening to poste- agnostic juvenile color pattern. Subsequent field work on rior corner of eye), and interorbital distance (Interorb; the Farm Uisib has yielded a series of adult specimens of shortest distance between left and right superciliary scale this species, permitting its description. Ongoing molecu- rows). lar phylogenetic work verifies that it too is, in fact, cor- rectly assigned to the “northwestern clade” of Pachydact- Scale counts and external observations of morphology lyus. were made using a Nikon SMZ-1000 dissecting micro- scope. Comparisons were made with museum material (see Appendix) representing all species in the Pachydacty- MATERIALS AND METHODS lus serval/weberi group and the “northwestern clade” of Pachydactylus (sensu Bauer & Lamb 2005; Bauer et al. The following measurements were taken with Brown and 2006a). Standard codes for museum collections follow Sharpe Digit-cal Plus digital calipers (to the nearest 0.1 Leviton et al. (1985) except as noted (*): California Acad- mm) as per Bauer et al. (2006a): snout-vent length (SVL; emy of Sciences, San Francisco (CAS), Museum of Com- from tip of snout to vent), crus length (CrusL; from base parative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA of heel to knee); tail length (TailL; from vent to tip of un- (MCZ), National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek regenerated tail), tail width (TailW; measured at base of (NMN*), Naturmuseum und Forschungsinstitut Sencken- tail); axilla to groin length (TrunkL); head length (HeadL; berg, Frankfurt am Main (SMF), South African Museum, distance retroarticular process of the jaw and snout-tip), Cape Town (SAM), Transvaal Museum, Pretoria (TM), head width (HeadW; measured at angle of jaws), head Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, depth (HeadD; maximum height of head, from occiput to Bonn (ZFMK). Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 257–266 ©ZFMK A new Pachydactylus from northern Namibia 259 Additional material. TM 84999, 85005; Namibia, Otjo- zondjupa Region, Grootfontein District, Farm Uisib (19°33’08”S, 17°14’07”E). Diagnosis. Snout-vent length to at least 44.4 mm. A mod- erate-sized Pachydactylus with a depressed body form. Trunk with 16 rows of enlarged, keeled tubercles, grad- ing into prominent conical scales on flanks (Figs 2–4). Or- bital diameter as great as eye-ear distance. Rostral partic- ipating in nostril rim. Dorsal surface of thighs and shanks covered by enlarged conical to keeled scales. Tail with keeled lanceolate tubercles restricted to one scale row per tail segment. Dorsal pattern with an occipital-nuchal loop, a “V”-shaped band on posterior of neck, a transverse bar anterior to hindlimb insertion, and a series of oval mark- ings or fusions thereof on the trunk (Figs 2–5). Among its congeners P. boehmei sp n. is superficially sim- ilar to some members of the P. weberi group, but can be distinguished from these by its inclusion of the rostral in the nostril rim and the possession of a maximum of only four undivided scansors beneath the digits of the pes (ver- sus at least five on some digits). Among other members of the “northwestern clade” of Pachydactylus it may be differentiated from P. bicolor Hewitt, 1926, P. punctatus, P. scherzi Mertens, 1954, and P. caraculicus FitzSimons, 1959 by its tuberculate (versus atuberculate) dorsum, from P. angolensis Loveridge, 1944 by its inclusion of the ros- tral and first supralabial in the nostril border (versus both excluded), from P.
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