Hemidactylus mabouia ( Moreau de Jonnès, 1818 )

Sánchez-Vialas, Alberto, Calvo-Revuelta, Marta & Riva, Ignacio De La, 2022, Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea, Zootaxa 5202 (1), pp. 1-197 : 38

Hemidactylus mabouia ( Moreau de Jonnès, 1818)

Figure 9A

Gekko mabouia Moreau de Jonnès, 1818: 138 . Type locality: “en Amérique, dans les contrées continentales qui avoisinent au midi l’archipel des Antilles, et qu’il est également répandu dans les îles même de l’archipel, depuis la Trinité jusqu’à la Jamaïque ”, restricted to St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles by Stejneger (1904).

Gekko incanescens Wied-Neuwied, 1824: 101 . Type locality: Brazil.

Gecko tuberculosus Raddi, 1823: 63. Type locality: warmer climates throughout the world, even on remote oceanic islands.

Gekko armatus Wied-Neuwied, 1824: 104 . Type locality: Brazil.

Gecko aculeatus Spix, 1825: 16. Type locality: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gecko cruciger Spix, 1825: 16. Type locality: Bahia, Brazil.

Hemidactylus mabouia ( Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) : Duméril & Bibron 1836: 362.

Hemidactylus frenatus var. calabaricus Boettger, 1878: 1 . Type locality: Old Calabar, Nigeria.

Distribution. Widely distributed in tropical areas both in the Old and New Worlds, including some Atlantic islands. In Equatorial Guinea it has been recorded in the islands of Bioko (at Malabo) ( Carranza & Arnold 2006) and Annobon ( Jesus et al. 2003; Rocha et al. 2005), and in Río Muni at the village of Sendje in Monte Mitra, within the Monte Alén National Park ( Gonwouo & Nsang 2005) ( Map 8B ).

Comments. One of the most widespread species of the genus, as it has been introduced in several tropical regions. Likely originated in East Africa. Based on mtDNA (12S and CytB gene fragments) this species is very uniform across most of its distribution, which encompass tropical Africa, including Bioko (Malabo), South America, North America (Florida) and some Caribbean areas ( Carranza & Arnold 2006; Rato et al. 2021). However, despite the widespread genetic uniformity of H. mabouia in most of its range, deep lineages and cryptic diversity across the eastern coast of Africa have been documented ( Agarwal et al., 2021). The taxonomic status and relationships between some populations formerly recorded as H. mabouia and the Malagasy H. mercatorius Gray, 1842 are in need of revision ( Rocha et al. 2005; Rocha et al. 2010a; Agarwal et al. 2021). Within this context, the results obtained by Rocha et al. (2005) and Rocha et al. (2010a) based on mtDNA (16S gene fragment) and nuDNA (cmos gene fragment), showed that populations from Annobon and some other Gulf of Guinea islands, such as São Tomé and Príncipe, are nested within a clade formed by populations of H. mercatorius from Madagascar, Comoros, Uganda, and the Islands of Mahé ( Seychelles), Zanzibar and Pemba ( Tanzania). As Hemidactylus mercatorius has been described from northern Madagascar [restricted to Seychelles by Loveridge (1947)], Rocha et al. (2010a) suggested the use of H. mercatorius for the populations of the islands of the Gulf of Guinea ( Annobon, São Tomé and Príncipe), leaving the status of continental populations pending further studies. By contrast, the specimens from Bioko (Malabo) and São Tomé and Príncipe sequenced by Carranza & Arnold (2006) did not cluster with two Malagasy samples of H. mercatorius , thus considering the Atlantic populations as H. mabouia ( Rato et al. 2021) , which is congruent with the results obtained by Agarwal et al. (2021). Until the taxonomic identities of these populations alongside with those from mainland Africa are properly investigated, we tentatively follow the application of the most conservative designation, H. mabouia , for the Equatorial Guinea populations ( Agarwal et al. 2021). Ceríaco et al. (2018, 2022) used the name H. mabouia for the populations from the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. In Río Muni, the species frequents human settlements ( Gonwouo & Nsang 2005). Pérez del Val (2001) listed the preserved specimens MNCN 15664 and MNCN 15666–15668 as H. mabouia , which are herein re-identified as H. angulatus .

Specimens examined. Thirty-five specimens. Río Muni: Bata, 19 September 1984 ( EBD 18384) ; Alosa , Niefang, 8 July 1984 ( EBD 18608–18609 ) ; from Ebian to Bata, Km 19, 13 June 1984 ( EBD 18664) ; Asonga , Bata ( EBD 18669) ; Hotel Panáfrica , Bata, 9 June 1984 ( EBD 18696) ; Finca de los Cocos, Bata, 15 April 1963 ( EBD 2735–2739 , EBD 2742–2743 ), 26 May 1964 ( EBD 2747 ) ; Boca del Río Etembue , 9 June 1964 ( EBD 2740–2741 ) ; Boca del Río Aye , Río Muni ( EBD 2745–2746 ) ; San Joaquín de Ndyacom , 1990 ( EBD 31500) . Bioko : Malabo, 20 July 1986 ( EBD 21395–21396 ) ; Las Caracolas , Finca Carboneras, Malabo, 2 June 1984 ( EBD 18683–18695 , EBD 22562) .

Figures

MAPS 8 A–C. Distribution maps for Equatorial Guinean records of (A) Hemidactlyus aff. longicephalus (question mark represents a dubious record; see species account); (B) Hemidactylus mabouia; (C) Hemidactylus muriceus.

FIGURE 9. From left to right: dorsal side of the trunk, ventral view of hind legs and tail, and ventral view of the head of Hemidactylus mabouia (A) (EBD 2746); and dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of the head of Lygodactylus thomensis (B) (MNCN 46132), and Lacertaspis gemmiventris (C) (EBD 31523) showing a marbled pattern. Photos: AS-V.