Two newly recognized species of Hemidactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai, Egypt

By

Smid, Jiří
Moravec, Jiří 1958-
Kratochvíl, Lukáš
Gvoždík, Václav, 1979-
Nasher, Abdul Karim
Busais, Salem M. (Salem Mahfoudh), 1975-
Wilms, Thomas
Shobrak, Mohammed Y.
Carranza, Salvador

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2013

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

355

Pages

79-107

Subjects

1827 , Arabia , Gekkonidae , Hemidactylus granosus Heyden , Hemidactylus saba species group , Hemidactylus ulii sp. n , molecular phylogeny , Red Sea , Reptilia

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.355.6190

 

Abstract

A recent molecular phylogeny of the Arid clade of the genus Hemidactylus revealed that the recently described H. saba and two unnamed Hemidactylus species from Sinai, Saudi Arabia and Yemen form a well-supported monophyletic group within the Arabian radiation of the genus. The name ‘Hemidactylus saba species group’ is suggested for this clade. According to the results of morphological comparisons and the molecular analyses using two mitochondrial (12S and cytb) and four nuclear (cmos, mc1r, rag1, rag2) genes, the name Hemidactylus granosus Heyden, 1827 is resurrected from the synonymy of H. turcicus for the Sinai and Saudi Arabian species. The third species of this group from Yemen is described formally as a new species H. ulii sp. n. The phylogenetic relationships of the members of ‘Hemidactylus saba species group’ are evaluated and the distribution and ecology of individual species are discussed.