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| Phyllodactylus cleofasensis Ramírez-Reyes, Barraza-Soltero, Nolasco-Luna, Flores-Villela & Escobedo-Galván, 2021 |
Abstract
We describe a new species of leaf-toed gecko of the genus Phyllodactylus from María Cleofas Island, the smallest island of Tres Marías Archipelago, Nayarit, México. Genomic, phylogenomic, and morphological evidence support that the new species presents a unique combination of diagnostic characters. Morphologically, the new species has a high number of tubercles, head to tail (mean 47), longitudinal ventral scales (mean 61), and third labial–snout scales (mean 26). Gene flow tests revealed the genetic isolation of insular populations from mainland counterparts. In addition, we confirmed the non-monophyly of P. homolepidurus and P. nolascoensis, and we show that the taxon P. t. saxatilis is a complex; therefore, we propose taxonomic changes within the saxatilis clade. The discovery of this new insular endemic species highlights the urgency of continued exploration of the biological diversity of island faunas of Mexico.
Keywords: Endemic gecko, genomics, insular species, morphological traits, Tres Marías Archipelago
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| Figure 7. Dorsal view of Phyllodactylus cleofasensis sp. nov., in life. (Photo by Armando H. Escobedo-Galván). |
Phyllodactylus cleofasensis sp. nov.
Phyllodactylus tuberculosus (in part) Wiegmann 1835 (Stejneger 1899)
Phyllodactylus lanei (in part) Smith 1935 (Zweifel 1960)
P. tuberculosus saxatilis (in part) Dixon 1964 (McDiarmid et al. 1976; Casas-Andreu 1992; Woolrich-Piña et al. 2016)
Common name: María Cleofas leaf-toed Gecko, Salamanquesa de la Isla María Cleofas.
Diagnosis: Phyllodactylus cleofasensis is a species of medium to large body size. Snout-vent length of P. cleofasensis measured during fieldwork ranged from 44.8 to 77.0 mm (mean 59.5 mm). Concerning body size, P. cleofasensis differs (in mean size) from P. magnus (73.03), P. nolascoensis (56.29), P. partidus (55.12) and P. saxatilis (65.44). Phyllodactylus cleofasensis has a white venter, variable dorsal coloration, and a greater number of paravertebral dorsal tubercles (mean 47.89). Three meristic characters mainly differentiate P. cleofasensis from the rest of the species of the saxatilis clade (P. saxatilis, P. nolascoensis, P. partidus, P. homolepidurus and Phyllodactylus sp.) (Table 3): paravertebral dorsal tubercles from head to tail (mean 47.89); number of scales across the snout, starting from the 3rd labial scale (mean 26.5); and number of longitudinal ventral scales from an imaginary line of the forelimbs to the cloacal opening (mean 61). Phyllodactylus cleofasensis has the highest values of the mentioned characters, while the rest of the studied species presented lower counts compared to other Phyllodactylus species in Mexico (Tables 2 and 3). The new species has the second highest mean number of dorsal tubercles after P. delcampi (63.4). Other Phyllodactylus species have fewer mean dorsal tubercles (P. paucituberculatus, 28.7; P. duellmani, 37.1; P. bordai, 32.9; P. davisi, 41.6; P. muralis, 33.1; P. homolepidurus, 35.9; P. xanti, 37; P. lanei, 32.4; P. papenfussi, 33.2; P. isabelae, 32.3; P. lupitae, 28.8; P. rupinus, 28; P. benedettii, 28.8; and P. kropotkini, 28.4). Regarding the number of scales crossing the snout, P. cleofasensis has a very similar number of scales to P. muralis (26.1) and P. lupitae (25.5); lower counts occur in P. unctus (21.7), P. paucituberculatus (19.5), P. duellmani (19.9), P. delcampi (21), P. bordai (19.4), P. davisi (23.7), P. muralis (26.1), P. homolepidurus (22.5), P. xanti (16.5), P. lanei (21.6), P. papenfussi (17.8), P. isabelae (21.1), P. rupinus (20.6), P. benedettii (22), and P. kropotkini (20.2). Concerning ventral scales, P. cleofasensis has a mean of 61, similar to three species of the lanei clade (or clade I), namely, P. lupitae (61.5), P. rupinus (62) and P. lanei (62.86). The rest of the Phyllodactylus in Mexico have less than 61 scales: P. kropotkini (60), P. benedettii (59.71), P. xanti (58.75), P. angelensis (56.75), P. davisi (55.5), P. magnus (55.3), P. partidus (55.2), P. saxatilis (55), P. santacruzensis (54), P. muralis (53.9), P. isabelae (53.85), P. nolascoensis (52.75), P. homolepidurus (52.5), P. bordai (51.91), P. bugastrolepis (51.57), P. duellmani (48.75), P. paucituberculatus (48.66), and P. unctus (48.5).
Etymology: Specific epithet is taken from the type locality María Cleofas Island, with the Latin suffix -ensis meaning, “originating from.” Specific epithet is masculine, in agreement with the gender of Phyllodactylus.
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| Figure 2. Vegetation typed on María Cleofas Island A scrub forest B small area of Rhizophora mangle C tropical sub-deciduous, and D deciduous forest. |
Tonatiuh Ramírez-Reyes, Ilse K. Barraza-Soltero, Jose Rafael Nolasco-Luna, Oscar Flores-Villela and Armando H. Escobedo-Galván. 2021. A New Species of Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylidae, Phyllodactylus) from María Cleofas Island, Nayarit, Mexico. ZooKeys. 1024: 117-136. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1024.60473
