Gekko vittatus

Rösler, Herbert, Bauer, Aaron M., Heinicke, Matthew P., Greenbaum, Eli, Jackman, Todd, Nguyen, Truong Quang & Ziegler, Thomas, 2011, Phylogeny, taxonomy, and zoogeography of the genus Gekko Laurenti, 1768 with the revalidation of G. reevesii Gray, 1831 (Sauria: Gekkonidae), Zootaxa 2989, pp. 1-50 : 19-21

Gekko vittatus group

( Figure 7 )

Species. G. vittatus Houttuyn, 1782 ( Figure 7 A–B); Gekko sp. ” Belau “; Gekko sp. ”Malaupaina.”

Characters. Maximum SVL 140.0 mm; nares in contact with rostral; nasals 3–4; postmentals relatively small; dorsal tubercle rows 12–14; precloacal pores 14–58; postcloacal tubercles 1–3; no webbing between fingers and toes; fore and hind limbs with tubercles; lateral folds with tubercles; subcaudals not enlarged; head unicolored, without pattern; nominate form with white, anteriorly bifurcated dorsal stripe.

Distribution. G. vittatus is known from Indonesia (from Java to New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern Vanuatu (Torres and Banks Islands, Malakula Island); Gekko sp.” Belau “ is currently recorded from the Republic of Palau; Gekko sp. ”Malaupaina“ is currently reported from Malaupaina Island (Olu Malau Islands), Solomons ( Crombie & Pregill 1999; McCoy 2006).

Remarks. Gekko vittatus was described by Houttuyn (1782) with the locality data “zekerlyk uit de India.” Fitzinger (1826) referred the species to the genus Platydactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (see also Schlegel 1827; Wagler 1830; Duméril & Bibron 1836), which was subsequently split into three subgenera by Fitzinger (1843), of which vittatus belonged to his new subgenus Scelotretus. Lacerta unistriata , which was described by Shaw (1792), proved to be a synonym of G. vittatus (e.g., Daudin 1802; Gray 1845; Boulenger 1885; Wermuth 1965; Bauer 1994; Kluge 2001). Likewise Platydactylus bivittatus , which was described by Duméril & Bibron (1836) from New Guinea and Waigeo Island, Indonesia, was synonymized with G. vittatus ( Loveridge 1948) . Fitzinger’s (1843) Platydactylus (Scelotretus) bivittatus and Boulenger’s (1885) Gecko vittatus var. bivittatus referred to the same taxon. Gecko trachylaemus, described by Peters (1873), was also synonymized with G. vittatus ( Peters & Doria 1878) .

The number of preanofemoral pores recorded in G. vittatus varies considerably according to different authors ( Boulenger 1885: 50–59, De Rooij 1915: 14–58, Loveridge 1948: 21–57). Such variation of preanofemoral pores has not been described for any other Gekko species and likely points to the existence of cryptic species. However, in the series of G. vittatus from New Guinea and Ambon Island which was studied by us, we could not find any significant differences (see Table 1). With respect to pattern, we observed only slight variation in the number of light tail bands (4–6) and in the shape of the vertebral stripe on the tail and its bifurcation in the shoulder region (bifurcated branches may reach only as far as the back of head or may reach the eyes).

Gekko sp. ”Malaupaina“ is known from the eastern Solomons (e.g., Malaupaina Island). This form differs from G. vittatus s. str. in the coloration of the iris (gray versus light brown), ground coloration (black olive versus brown olive) and in pattern (light vertebral stripe that bifurcates on the neck lacking in G. v i t t a t u s s. str.), see McCoy (1980: Pl.2, fig. D, Pl. 6, fg. A) and McCoy (2006: Pl. 15). Mertens (1934: plate 2, fig. 7) pointed to a similarly patternless G. vittatus s. lat. from Nissan Atoll (Green Island Group, Papua New Guinea). The taxonomy of the southern Malaupaina form clearly deserves further research.

Gekko vittatus from the Belau Islands ( Republic of Palau) was mentioned as a distinct species by Crombie & Pregill (1999), however, it remains undescribed. The obscurely striped Gekko sp. ” Belau ” was occasionally referred to Gecko vittatus bivittatus (e.g., Boulenger 1885; Dryden & Taylor 1969), but Crombie & Pregill (1999) refer to significant differences between Gekko sp. ” Belau ” and the unstriped Gekko vittatus from New Guinea and the Solomons. The Belau form of G. vittatus shows some genetic divergence from G. vittatus across the remainder of the range (see above). The G. vittatus of Vanuatu shares its greatest molecular affinity with the form from the southern Solomons (see Figure 1 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bayesian phylogeny of Gekko, based on nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial ND 2 gene and nuclear RAG- 1 and PDC genes (2881 bp). Support values (Bayesian pp / ML bootstrap / MP bootstrap) are given at nodes. Species groups proposed herein are indicated.

FIGURE 7. Gekko vitattus (G. vittatus group): A. Duabo, Pini Range, SW of Alotau, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, photo by F. Kraus; B. Sudest Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, photo by F. Kraus.