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| Uroplatus garamaso Glaw, Köhler, Ratsoavina, Raselimanana, Crottini, Gehring, Böhme, Scherz & Vences, 2023 SALAMANDRA. 59(3) |
Abstract
We describe a large new species of leaf-tailed gecko endemic to northern Madagascar. Uroplatus garamaso sp. n. is the sister species of U. henkeli but differs by a genetic divergence > 8% in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, by the absence of haplotype sharing in four nuclear-encoded genes analyzed, a smaller body size, slightly narrower tail, a more pronounced yellowish/reddish iris colour in most individuals, and lack of black pigmentation on the tip of the tongue. The new species also appears to consistently differ from U. henkeli in genital morphology, with the apex of the hemipenis ending in two terminal elements consisting of 4–5 rotulae and longitudinal rows of calyces (versus an apex with irregularly distributed calyces and ending in two symmetrical structures consisting of two broader serrated fleshy elements in U. henkeli). We genetically confirm the occurrence of U. henkeli over a rather wide area, ranging from Tsingy de Bemaraha in the West to Nosy Be in the Sambirano region of northern Madagascar. Both, U. henkeli and the new species contain several deep mitochondrial lineages that are considered as conspecific due to extensive haplotype sharing and lack of obvious morphological differences among them.
Key words. Squamata, Gekkonidae, Uroplatus henkeli, Uroplatus garamaso sp. n., taxonomy, systematics, molecular genetics, morphology.
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| Uroplatus garamaso sp. n. in life: (A, B) adult male holotype ZSM 35/2018 from Montagne d’Ambre National Park, western slope; (C–H) specimens from Montagne des Français; (G) corresponding to specimen ZSM 2111/2007. |
Uroplatus garamaso sp. n.
Diagnosis: Assigned to the genus Uroplatus and within the genus to the U. fimbriatus group based on molecular phylogenetic relationships and typical general appearance: a large Malagasy gecko with flat tail and lateral dermal fringes along head and body. It differs from U. fimbriatus and U. giganteus by smaller body size (SVL of adults < 140 mm vs. ≥ 150 mm) and a different iris colouration without a pattern of vertical lines. It can be distinguished from most populations of U. sikorae, including the ones from northern Madagascar, by absence of black colour on the oral mucosa (vs. presence), from U. sameiti by a larger number of supralabials (45–53 vs. 37–44, according to counts reported herein; Table 1), and from both these species by habitat (dry or transitional forest vs. humid rainforest). The new species is most similar to, and phylogenetically the sister species of, U. henkeli (Figs 7–9), from which it differs mainly by smaller adult body size (SVL 83–139 mm vs. 138–186 mm), a smaller relative tail width (TaW/SVL 0.12– 0.19 vs. 0.19–0.23), an unpigmented tip of the tongue (vs. black tip in U. henkeli), more extended yellow-reddish colour in the iris of most individuals, and apical serrated rotulae (vs. symmetrical fleshy apical structures with serrated elements) on hemipenes. Furthermore, the new species is genetically highly distinct from all other Uroplatus in the mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes studied, with numerous diagnostic substitutions in all pairwise comparisons and > 8% pairwise distance in the 16S gene fragment. The karyotype of the new species, based on a specimen from Montagne d’Ambre genotyped using a 16S sequence, was 2n = 36, with loci of NORs in a peritelomeric position on the 6th chromosome pair (Mezzasalma et al. 2022).
Etymology: The species epithet is a Malagasy term containing the Malagasy word maso (= eye) and is used in Madagascar to refer to someone with bright, shiny eyes. The name refers to the often characteristic eye colouration of the new species, and is used as a noun in apposition to the genus name.
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| Individuals probably assignable to Uroplatus garamaso sp. n. from Antsolipa forest fragment near Tsarakibany (located between Montagne d’Ambre and Ankarana) in life (vouchers not collected and no genetic data available from this locality). |
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| Uroplatus garamaso sp. n. in life, individuals from Ankarana National Park: (A) female specimen ZSM 2145/2007; (B, C) specimens of unknown sex, not unambiguously assignable to available voucher specimens; (E, F, G) female specimen ZSM 2144/2007. |
Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina, Achille P. Raselimanana, Angelica Crottini, Philip-Sebastian Gehring, Wolfgang Böhme, Mark D. Scherz and Miguel Vences. 2023. A New large-sized Species of Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus) from northern Madagascar. SALAMANDRA. 59(3); 239-261.
