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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 64, No. 8 
noted that the populations of “5. petrif from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya were likely S. stenurus. 
Metallinou et al. (2012) demonstrated that S. petrii was paraphyletic with respect to S. stenurus, 
with S. stenurus more closely allied to western populations of S. petrii (represented by material 
from Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in their sampling) than to true 
S. petrii from Egypt and Israel. In the absence of sampling in critical intervening areas, most 
notably Libya, they left open the question of whether S. stenurus should be considered conspecif- 
ic with S. petrii, a broadly ranging species across most of North Africa, or a restricted form distinct 
from both clades of S. petrii. Based on the diagnostic differences signaled by Kratochvil et al. 
(2001), we recognize S. stenurus as a full species. Specimens of S. petrii from northwestern Libya 
should be reexamined to confirm their species allocation and additional genetic sampling in Egypt 
and Libya is critical to properly delimiting the two species. 
IUCN Threat Status. — Not evaluated, but anticipated to be Least Concern. 
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus (Lichtenstein, 1823:102) Fig. 17 
1823 Ascalabotes sthenodactylus Lichtenstein, Verzeichniss der Doubletten des zoologischen Museums 
der Konigl. Universitat zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten von Saugethieren, 
Vogeln, Amphibien und Fischen. T. Trautwein, Berlin, x + 118 pp., 1 pi. 
Neotype. — MNHN 2012.0250 designated by Crochet et al. (2014), “Wadi El Natrun, Egypt (Lat: 
30.4233/Long: 30.2928).” A lectotype, ZMB 437A from “Aegypten” had previously been designated by Bauer 
and Gunther 1991) [see Bauer and Gunther 1991, Bauer 2000, and Metallinou and Crochet 2013) for more 
detail], Metallinou and Crochet (2013), however, demonstrated that the type is actually representative of the 
species now regarded as S. mauritanicus and, in order to conserve current usage and maintain stability, Cro¬ 
chet et al. (2014) applied to the ICZN (Case 3641) to set aside all previous type fixations in favor of a neo¬ 
type representing the form to which the name sthenodactylus has been applied. 
1976 Garzoniella longipes Perret, Garzoniella : Un nouveau genre de Gekkonidae saharien. Revue Suisse 
de Zoologie, 83:761-764, pis. 1-3. 
Holotype. — MHNG 1520.20, “Sud Sahara central, probablement entre Ghat et Sebha, Fezzan, Lybie” 
[the type locality was uncertain because the specimen was collected somewhere on a trip from Tunis to Tripoli 
to Sebha to Ubari (=Abwari) to Ghat to Madama (Niger) to Djanet (Algeria) to Ghadames (Libya) to Tozeur 
(Tunisia) and return to Tunis (Perret 1976)]. 
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus [part], Le Berre 1989:166. 
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus [part], Schleich, Kastle, and Kabisch 1996:261. 
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus sthenodactylus, Sindaco and Jeremcenko 2008:131. 
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus [part], Trape, Trape, and Chirio 2012:256. 
Distribution. — Widely distributed 
across North Africa from northern Senegal and 
Mauritania east through Egypt and south to 
Lake Turkana, Kenya (although apparently 
absent from the Ethiopian Highlands), with 
scattered populations across the northern 
Sahel. Also in Sinai, Israel and western Jordan 
(Metallinou et al. 2012). In North Africa Sten¬ 
odactylus sthenodactylus occupies more inland 
areas than its sister species, S. mauritanicus, 
and its habitat can be typified as gravelly and 
coarse sandy plains and poorly vegetated arid Figure 17 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus and egg from 
areas. In Libya they occur country-wide exclu- Um Al-Aranib, Murzuq, Fezzan, Libya. Photo © Adel 
sive of the coastal areas. Ibrahim. 
